Fatherhood
by The Fluff Queen
Summary: At 17, Jesse St. James has his life all planned out. But then Rachel calls. And he's forced to concoct a new plan: one that includes Rachel… and his child. St. Berry
1. Prologue

**Author's Note: **Apparently, my muse can't pick. She can't decide if she wanted 'To Be a Father' to be a Puckleberry story or a St. Berry. Hence, a new story based on the same principle, only with a small twist. "To Be a Father" is now on the Puckleberry side. For this to work, Rachel lost her virginity to Jesse after 'Bad Reputation', but everything happened exactly the same as it did in canon.

**Disclaimer: **Not mine. Just having fun.

**Summary: **At 17, Jesse St. James has his life all planned out. But then Rachel calls. And he's forced to concoct a new plan: one that includes Rachel… and his child.

**Fatherhood**

**_Prologue_**

**H**is eyes immediately find her face the moment he steps onstage, the first notes of Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody' floating in the air. She looks pale and visibly thinner – the golden and black dress falls loosely on her body – and her face is stony, lips pressed in a thin, tense line. Longing and jealousy fight for dominance within his heart, and he puts his best show face on, pours out all his feelings and emotions on the song. He knows her club is the one to beat – their Journey-inspired performance was amazing – and he wants this. Even if it means she loses the one thing she still has to make her happy.

She turns pale halfway through his presentation and rushes out of the auditorium, and he freezes because she had her hand pressed against her mouth – was she crying? But Andrea subtly nudges him into carrying on, and so he does, knowing that the judges won't notice his slip (he has the best show face in the entire group). Shelby looks distracted, but smiles at them appraisingly as they file out of the stage and in the green room.

They win, of course.

But the look in Rachel's face when she realized that New Directions hadn't even placed haunts him. She leans against Artie, looking sickly and pale, and her eyes fill with tears when she looks at him and sees him and Shelby in an embrace. Shelby whispers words of congratulations in his ear and he brushes her off. Andrea invites him to a post-Regionals party at her house and he goes. He tries to drown Rachel's face onstage during the announcement of the winner, and when he cracked that egg on her forehead, with alcohol, but it doesn't work.

In fact, getting drunk only brings back memories of their one night together, the night when he took her virginity, when he thought that he finally had found someone to love. She had been so sweet, so soft, so willing. And he made sure she hadn't hurt, actually he was so nervous that Rachel for a moment thought he was as virgin as she was. And, in a way, she was right, because he had _sex _with all the other girls he had been with.

To Rachel, he made love. And, for someone who has his entire life planned ahead of him (he's had his full ride to UCLA – maybe you've heard of it. It's in Los Angeles – since junior year, and he'll be famous within the next years, a household name within the next two and an Academy Award winner for Best Actor within the five subsequent), that's pretty much life-changing.

He feels his cell phone vibrating against his thigh, but he ignores it – probably it is one of his parents' assessors calling under his parents' orders to offer congratulations on his win – and demands that Lucas gives him a full bottle of tequila. Lucas looks shocked for a moment – Jesse never drinks – but then shrugs and passes him a still sealed bottle of liquor. Jesse stumbles out of the room and finds the nearest quiet, calm place – the back porch of Andrea's house – settling on the steps that lead to the pool area before cracking the bottle open and pulling out his cell phone.

His heart nearly stops when he sees Rachel called, and she left a voice message. Shaking slightly, he presses the button and places the phone against his ear. After punching his password in, he hears Rachel's soft, breathy voice. "Hey, Jesse, it's me. We… We need to talk. Please call me back". He looks stunned at the phone before pressing the first number on his speed dial, praying fervently for her to pick up.

She does. He stays silent for a long minute, before saying, "Hey… You called?" His voice is soft and unsure, and he chugs down a long drink straight from the bottle before placing it by his side.

She breathes. "Yes, I… I have something to tell you".

He snorts. "If that's about you and Hudson getting together, I really don't need to know, Rachel…"

He's prepping for a long rant on why Hudson is so wrong and undeserving of her love, when she says the words that send his entire world – and his life plan – to hell. "Jesse, I'm pregnant".

He's stunned into silence before rising to his feet, kicking the bottle away. "I'm on my way".


	2. 1

**Author's Note: **Apparently, my muse can't pick. She can't decide if she wanted 'To Be a Father' to be a Puckleberry story or a St. Berry. Hence, a new story based on the same principle, only with a small twist. "To Be a Father" is now on the Puckleberry side. For this to work, Rachel lost her virginity to Jesse after 'Bad Reputation', but everything happened exactly the same as it did in canon.

Okay, my darlings, this is where 'To Be a Father' and 'Fatherhood' diverge. Jesse is Jesse, the guy who is nuts about Rachel here. Hope you like it, and please check out the Puckleberry version of this tale!

**Disclaimer: **Not mine. Just having fun.

**Summary: **At 17, Jesse St. James has his life all planned out. But then Rachel calls. And he's forced to concoct a new plan: one that includes Rachel… and his child.

**Fatherhood**

_**One**_

**H**e gets to her house as soon as he can, trying very hard not to shake in panic because he **is **Jesse St. James and he doesn't do panic. Besides, maybe Rachel is wrong, maybe she is just late on her time of the month and she is making a big deal out of nothing – it's not that unexpected considering her flair for dramatics.

(He tries very hard to convince himself that Rachel isn't pregnant, even though the sensitive part of his brain – the part where he's mature enough to recognize the woman of his dreams and everything that he did to hurt her – tells him that Rachel is not like other girls and she wouldn't go this low in order to get back at him for smashing that egg in her forehead).

When he arrives at her house, she's sitting at her porch, her long, lean legs stretched in front of her. He recognizes Puckerman's truck parked on her driveway, but Rachel's alone in the porch, so he turns the engine off , locks his Rover and walks towards her. She looks up at him when he approaches her, and his heart breaks when he sees the light glinting on the tear tracks down her cheeks.

He doesn't even stop to think – he just sits down next to her and takes her in his arms. She's stiff and tense in his arms, but only for a moment – the next minute, she's clinging on him for dear life, sobbing quietly, all but nestled on his lap, her head buried in his shoulder. He hugs her tight, mumbles sweet nothings against her hair. "I'm so scared, Jesse", she says in between her sobs.

"I know, baby, I know…" He says quietly. "But you're going to be okay, we're going to be okay, I love you…" He takes her face in his hands and looks at her, long and serious. "I love you, Rachel. I'm so sorry for cracking that egg on you. But I was just so angry and hurt and jealous! I know it's no excuse for my behavior, but that's the truth. No one at McKinley was welcoming of me and you casted me next to Puckerman and Hudson, and then he sang that song for you while I was away… It was just a sum of all this, and then I had to transfer back to Carmel and Andrea wanted me to prove my loyalty to them…" He caresses her soft, damp cheeks. "And I regretted it almost immediately, but it was done. And I did it to you while you're carrying my child…" His voice is thick with tears, and he just holds her tight.

She hugs him tight in response, reeling from the lengthy apology he just gave her. It's like she's again seeing Jesse, the Jesse that she met in Carmel after she went there to break up with him, the guy who's crazy for her and wouldn't do anything to hurt her. There's a difference between that Jesse and the one who egged her in the parking lot. And she knows she's the only one he allowed proximity enough to see it.

They stay locked in their passionate embrace for a long time, until she begins to shake with coldness. Worried, he gets up and takes her inside, and her teeth chatter with the contrast of temperature. He rubs her arms up and down, and a solemn looking Puckerman comes from the kitchen, with a coat for Rachel. The two boys nod at each other, and Puckerman tells Rachel to have a long warm shower. She agrees and with a quick peck on Jesse's lips she rushes to her bathroom.

Puckerman waits for the door to slam closed before turning to him with a scowl in his face. The bulkier boy shoves Jesse against the wall and looks at him ferociously. "Now listen up, punk. B there is having your fucking kid. That is reason enough for me to kill you with my bare hands. She needs you now more than ever because no matter what fucking mask she puts on, in the end of the day she's just a fucking kid. Pull another shit like that with her or her baby, and kiss your pretty face goodbye. Gotcha?"

Jesse nods, not at all surprised by Puckerman, because if there's something he has learnt from the other boy is that he's fiercely loyal to those he truly cares for. And, since their very brief week of dating the previous year, Rachel is one of the few people Puckerman looks out to. Puckerman nods back and releases him, and sighs deeply.

"I have to go. Ma still doesn't know Quinn popped out Beth. Tell B to call me tomorrow. Night, St. James".

"Good night, Puckerman. And… Thank you".

The other boy shrugs indifferently. "I didn't do it for you. I did it for her. Make sure she's fine". Puckerman leaves and Jesse locks the front door behind him. He takes off his jacket, shoes and socks, and paddles up to the closed bathroom door. The water has stopped running, so he knocks once, fluidly.

"Rachel?" He calls, and hears the soft muffled noises of her inside the room, but she doesn't answer. He tries the doorknob, and it's open, so he slides in. The room is foggy, and he moves his hand in front of his face to disperse some of the fog. He finds Rachel curled on a corner of the box, wet and naked, tears running down her cheeks, and his heart breaks all over again for her.

He wordlessly strips down to his underwear and steps into the shower with her, taking her in his arms. He hums 'Hello' softly, and she clings to him and, as she cries silently against him, he can't help but to let free some tears for himself too.

When he woke up that morning, he was Jesse St. James, star of Vocal Adrenaline and on his way to being a household name in the country. Twelve plus hours later, he's Jesse, a 17-year-old boy with a baby on the way and a scared sixteen-year-old girlfriend (there's no way they're staying broken up if she's having his child). All his life was planned in front of him. He now has to come up with a new plan, a plan that includes Rachel… And their baby.


	3. 2

**Author's Note: **Whoa, guys! I'm so excited with the response I've been getting to this story! It's so cool to know that St. Berry has such a large fan base! Keep the favorites, the alerts and the reviews coming. They keep me inspired.

Thanks for my wonderful beta MissElliexXxXx for all the help she is providing me with! A big shout out to NoahPuckermanWifey who is an inspired writer and helps me with her long PMs where we discuss St. Berry, Puckleberry, Finchel and the awesomeness that are Jon Groff and Lea Michele. And to one of my best friends in FF world and favorite writer, Ash, just because she reads and reviews everything I write!

For this to work, Rachel lost her virginity to Jesse after 'Bad Reputation', but everything else happened exactly the same as it did in canon.

To my reviewer _Athena_, I agree, the whole pregnant-Rachel is overused, but I'm trying to keep this as different as I can. Although based on the same plot bunny, "To Be a Father" and "Fatherhood" diverge entirely, because Puck has the experience with Quinn and will use it to help Rachel, where Jesse is clueless as she is. Everything that is new for Rachel will be for him too.

**Disclaimer: **Not mine. Just having fun.

**Summary: **At 17, Jesse St. James has his life all planned out. But then Rachel calls. And he's forced to concoct a new plan: one that includes Rachel… and his child.

**Fatherhood**

_**Two**_

**T**hey stay locked in their embrace for a long time, until all the hot water runs out. Jesse then rises, picks a fluffy white towel and wraps it around his girlfriend's nude body, wrapping his arm around her waist and helping her out of the shower, very carefully so nothing happens to her or the baby (he's still processing the fact that there _is _a baby growing in Rachel's stomach).

She dries herself the best she can and gives him the towel back, so he can dry himself as well. She can't help but to watch him – the long, lean lines of his body, the hard planes of his torso, the rippling muscles of his arms. He's absolute perfection, drive, intelligence and talent all wrapped up in a beautiful package. She blushes when he smirks after noticing her stare. "What?" She asks innocently, busying herself with finding clothes to wear. He shakes his head negatively, smiling, but stays quiet as he settles on her bed.

"Come here", he says after a moment, patting the spot next to him on the mattress, and she does, snuggling up to him. "We're going to be okay, you know that, right?" He rests his hand on her stomach, still shocked but ecstatic that his girl is having a baby, _his _baby. "I love you so much. And I love the baby too. I just hope it's not a girl like you, she'll be too beautiful and perfect".

She giggles softly and presses a kiss to his lips, resting her hand on the curve of his cheek. "We love you too. So, so much. But what do we do now? Where's Noah? He knows what we have to do, he has the whole experience with Quinn after all…" She trails off, burrowing in his heat and warmth. "I missed you", she confesses quietly.

"Puckerman left after threatening to beat me up if I hurt you or the baby", he rolls his eyes dramatically and she giggles, because, yes, that's typical Noah. "Since you mentioned Puckerman, why weren't the rest of them in the auditorium when we performed? Why just you stayed behind? I know you wanted to see me, but really, I would've thought Schue would want to check out the competition". He smirks, and she giggles, swatting at his chest.

"Quinn's water broke backstage after our performance. Everyone rushed to the hospital", she says. "I had to stay. Not only because I wanted to see you – but because I needed to see Vocal Adrenaline's performance. And, no offense, Jesse, but our set was so much better and emotional", she nods once, firmly, and he chuckles.

"I saw you", he confesses, playing with the ends of her hair. "You were beautiful, baby. But you've lost weight. And you guys sounded great. I loved the Journey mash-up". His eyes darken as he recalls Finn's declaration of love, and the way he looked at her during 'Faithfully'. She somehow senses what he's thinking and rolls on her stomach so that she's lying on top of him.

"Look at me, Jesse St. James. I love _you_. I'm having _your _baby. Finn… Finn was my first crush… the first guy who treated me with decency and respect. But to say he's my soulmate, that would be stretching the truth a mile wide. I feel for him a brotherly love. Whatever it is that he feels – or he thinks he feels – for me, I don't reciprocate". She says seriously, all the while looking lovingly and firmly at his eyes.

"I have no idea whatsoever of what I did to deserve you, Rachel Barbara Berry… But there's no way I'm letting you go", he says softly, pressing his lips to hers on a deep kiss.

**

* * *

T**he next morning finds Jesse all wrapped around Rachel, his ear pressed to her flat stomach. "Hey baby… It's me, daddy. You know, your mommy is the best woman in the entire world. She's sweet, beautiful, insanely talented and so generous. Daddy did some bad stuff to her and she still forgave me". He kisses her belly and smiles against her skin. "I think you can't hear me yet, but you're so loved already, baby angel".

Rachel wakes up to some soft mumbling and kissing on her stomach, and she blinks sleepily, looking down. Jesse is lying on his stomach, his mouth pressed to her belly, talking quietly to their tiny baby, and she basically melts, because it's that adorable. She stays very still, forcing her breath to remain regular and deep. Her eyes fill with tears and she bites down her lip to contain a sob. He looks up and their eyes lock, and he smiles at her.

"Hey… Why are you crying?" He asks quietly, sliding up so that they're lying side by side.

"I'm terrified, Jesse. We're so young. And you have to go to UCLA in the fall. How are we going to work it out? We can't keep flying back and forth from Lima to LA, and I have school and glee to worry with-".

He feels her preparing to go full blown on a rant and, since those things can't be good for baby St. James, he presses a quick kiss on her lips. "Baby, relax. Let's focus on our summer right now, okay? I think we should call Puckerman, or maybe Quinn, to ask for some pointers. They've gone through it, they can help us out the best. Then we go to Schue. And…" He looks hesitant for a moment, "… Maybe your mother can help us too?"

She stiffens visibly and he rushes to assure her, "Rach, love, I know she screwed it up, but she's human, and she loves you. She walked away because she thought you didn't need her. Is there a better time to prove her that she's wrong and that you need her as much as Beth does?"

Rachel looks thoughtful for a moment, and he knows she's pondering his words. He has this way to get to Rachel and, surprisingly, when they're together they try to live as drama-free as possible (which has been quite impossible considering the last few weeks). He doesn't know much about children, but one thing he knows – Rachel's too early into her pregnancy to be overstressed, and he'll do whatever it takes to keep her and their baby safe and healthy.

(It's quite a shock how easily this instinct to protect his new family has been coming to him. Being a father at 17 was never part of the plan. Then again, falling in love with Rachel Berry was never a part of it either, and it happened).

She nods after a moment, very hesitantly and fearfully, and he takes her hand in his, kissing her knuckles softly. "It'll be fine, baby. Everything will work out for the best, we'll find a way to do it".


	4. 3

**Author's Note: **Whoa, guys! I'm so excited with the response I've been getting to this story! It's so cool to know that St. Berry has such a large fan base! Keep the favorites, the alerts and the reviews coming. They keep me inspired. I'll try and update 'To Be a Father' later tonight.

For this to work, Rachel lost her virginity to Jesse after 'Bad Reputation', but everything else happened exactly the same as it did in canon.

To my reviewer _Chin_: Thanks for your review. I understand your point of view completely and I think no teenager should be having unprotected sex. Getting pregnant is the lesser of two evils when it comes to unprotected sex.

However, in my opinion what attracts me to write both 'Fatherhood' and 'To Be a Father' is the opportunity to put Rachel, who is basically Glee's ultimate good girl, on a situation over which she has no control and with two young men completely different. In 'Fatherhood', it's Jesse, who will learn to think of someone else first and him second. In 'To Be a Father', it's Puck, who never had the chance to be a father since Quinn gave Beth away to adoption. But **that doesn't mean I'm saying that teens should have unprotected sex.** No one should have unprotected sex, unless the person is prepared to face the consequences.

**Disclaimer: **Not mine. Just having fun.

**Summary: **At 17, Jesse St. James has his life all planned out. But then Rachel calls. And he's forced to concoct a new plan: one that includes Rachel… and his child.

**Fatherhood**

_**Three**_

**T**he parents-to-be finally rise from bed once Rachel's stomach begins to growl softly, making her blush deeply and Jesse chuckle with amusement. He marvels at how easily they fell back in their state of blissful happiness, but then Rachel pales and rushes to the bathroom, and he panics following right behind her. He finds her leaning over the pristine white toilet and, firmly avoiding to look down, he catches all her hair in one hand so it won't be in the way. The other hand comes to rest at the small of her back, caressing it softly. He looks at his reflection, and is shocked to notice the small glimmer of maturity that he can recognize in his crystal blue eyes. _I've changed. It's been less than 24 hours since I've learnt I'll be a father, and my child already changed me_, he thinks, surprised.

Rachel finally seems to stop having thrown up, and she leans heavily against him. She sighs deeply and smiles tiredly at him before dragging herself to the sink, where she washes her face and brushes her teeth and hair. Closing the toilet lid and flushing it, he takes a seat at it and watches Rachel carefully, trying to gauge the changes in her. She moves more cautiously now, as if each step she takes offers a risk to their child growing inside of her. She looks pale, too, and her face is less round, more angled; he thinks that's thanks to her weight loss (he can't help the wave of guilt that engulfs him, because he knows she lost weight thanks to him). She looks more like a woman and less like a girl; he ponders that like him she's maturing as she gets used to the idea of being pregnant.

She leans against the tiled wall and smiles at him, hesitantly. "I'm hungry, Jesse, but I don't think there's something I can eat here that won't end up as a repeat of five minutes ago", she says dryly, and he chuckles wrapping an arm around her waist. His hand comes accidentally to rest over her stomach and he smiles at her.

"Tell you what, Rach. Why don't you take a shower and I'll check in with Puck? I think he'll be able to help us out", he suggests, and Rachel goes over it in her mind before nodding and returning to the bathroom. He hears the shower running and goes back to her bedroom, settling on her bed before flipping his cell phone open. He scrolls through his contacts and, finding Puckerman's number, presses the button to make the call.

"St. Jerk?" Puck says dryly, and Jesse rolls his eyes.

"I thought we were back to me being St. James?"

"Until I hear from Rach that you guys are okay, you're still St. Jerk". Jesse can picture him nodding, and rolls his eyes, and there's a beat before Puck adds, "How's B? The kid?"

"That's why I'm calling for. Rachel is suffering with morning sickness and she's afraid of eating and ending up throwing up again". He bites his lower lip as Puck sighs.

"Quinn suffered with morning sickness the entire pregnancy. She'd eat crackers and drink water or Gatorade. Have you guys told your folks yet? I know B's old men won't be back until late next week, but what about yours, St. Jerk?"

Jesse listens closely to the noise on the bathroom – Rachel's singing softly, he recognizes the song as Celine Dion's 'A New Day Has Come', and he smiles slightly. "You know my parents aren't around most of the time, Puck. The only family I have is my uncle. And now Rachel, and the baby", he admits quietly, and Puck stays silent because their missing parents – Puck's father, Jesse's father _and_mother – are something they bonded over. "We'll have to count on her fathers, mostly. My uncle is quite old, and he doesn't have children".

"Count the glee club in too. But first things first – you need to take Rach to the doctor so she and the kid can be checked out", Puck says gruffly. Jesse nods, bites his lip again and then decides to go ahead.

"Listen, is Quinn out of the hospital already? I have a feeling Rachel would like to talk to her".

"Not yet, she'll be discharged later today, I guess. Beth was taken already". Puck is silent for a moment and sighs. "Shelby adopted her", he mumbles, and Jesse's phone nearly falls from his hand.

"Sorry. I think you said Shelby adopted your daughter".

"You heard right".

"Shelby? As in Shelby Corcoran? My now former glee coach and Rachel's mother?"

Puck growls annoyed. "Which other Shelby do the two of us know, St. Jerk?"

"Oh, fuck", Jesse slaps his forehead softly. He hears the shower being turned off and hurries. "Puck, Rachel's coming. When Quinn is rested enough to receive guests, give me a call".

"Gotcha, St. James. I have to go anyway, there's a call on the other line. Remember, crackers and Gatorade. Later". Puck disconnects the call and Jesse slides it back on his pocket, massaging his scalp carefully. _Well, I guess this will just make the visit to Shelby a lot more awkward_, he sighs, but smiles at his girlfriend.

"So? What did Noah say?" She asks.

"Well, he told me to fill you up with crackers and Gatorade, Quinn used to eat and drink it a lot throughout the pregnancy because she suffered with morning sickness the whole nine months". She frowns as he speaks, and he knows she's trying to remember if that checks. When she nods, he carries on, "He also told me to take you to the doctor so you and the baby can have a check out, and to tell your fathers".

But he loses the track of thought, because she carelessly drops the white towel she was wrapped in until then, and to see her petite, tight body leaves him dry-mouthed and with an instantaneous hard-on. She looks coyly at him over her shoulder and he smirks, getting up and slowly crossing the space that separates them.

"You are so, _so _sexy, baby", he whispers, wrapping his arms around her waist, his thumbs caressing her stomach lightly. She giggles.

"Yeah, you tell me that now that I'm still all tiny and looking… Non-pregnant", she teases, and he gently turns her so she's facing him. He lovingly places a finger under her chin and lifts it so that their eyes lock.

"Baby, I honestly can't wait to see you showing with our child". He kisses her softly. "I love you, Rachel Berry".

Her eyes well with tears, and she smiles at him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I love you too, Jesse St. James", she whispers, kissing him passionately.


	5. 4

**Author's Note: **Whoa, guys! I'm so excited with the response I've been getting to this story! It's so cool to know that St. Berry has such a large fan base! Keep the favorites, the alerts and the reviews coming. They keep me inspired.

For this to work, Rachel lost her virginity to Jesse after 'Bad Reputation', but everything else happened exactly the same as it did in canon.

**Disclaimer: **Not mine. Just having fun.

**Summary: **At 17, Jesse St. James has his life all planned out. But then Rachel calls. And he's forced to concoct a new plan: one that includes Rachel… and his child.

**Fatherhood**

_**Four**_

**T**he weekend passes on a blur of happiness and fear and worry and morning sickness and JesseJesseJesse. Jesse cradling her as they go to sleep, his hands resting protectively and possessively on her stomach. Jesse holding her hair back as she throws up. Jesse playing the piano and singing 'Hello' and 'Somebody to Love' to and with her. Jesse reassuring her that everything will turn out fine. Jesse admitting he was worried he wouldn't be a good father, but assuring her that she and the baby were the best thing to ever happen to him. Jesse calling her the love of his life, his girlfriend, with reverence and adoration. Jesse being there, scared and terrified and fierce and sure and safe and perfect.

Monday arrives and even though she knows it is her glee club's last days, not even this seems to shake off her good mood. After a long walk with Jesse (she's given up the elliptical until she gives birth), they shower together and get dressed. He drives her to McKinley and she is surprised when he parks and locks the car and walks her to the school building. His hand encases her, and they run into Quinn and Noah in the parking lot. Noah hugs her and shakes Jesse's hand. Quinn hugs her and asks her how she's doing, and Rachel knows Noah has told her about her pregnancy.

"I'm okay. Morning sickness is awful though", she says quietly, and Quinn makes a face.

"That's something I _won't _miss from being pregnant", she says with a laugh, rubbing her hand absently against her now flat stomach. Rachel snuggles a little more against Jesse and the two couples walk towards the building, the girls quietly talking about summer plans (Rachel's are basically to enjoy her boyfriend's presence every single day until he has to leave to UCLA. Quinn's includes getting fit again and hanging out with Noah); the boys discussing music.

Of course, the little bubble is popped when they meet Finn, whose friendly face switches from blank shock to dark anger as he recognizes Rachel all wrapped up around Jesse. He rushes at the four teens, Rachel flinching at the sight of him. "What the fuck are you doing here?" He growls ferociously, coming to stand face to face with Jesse. His large hand wraps itself around Rachel's shoulder and he tugs firmly at her, trying to break her free of Jesse's grasp. She cries out in pain because Finn's holding on her unnecessarily tight. Jesse narrows his eyes and clenches his fists tight to refrain from punching the taller, younger boy.

"Take your fucking paws away from my girl, Hudson", he says quietly but fiercely, and Puck sees they're about to deck each other in the middle of hall so he steps in the middle of the two and puts one hand on Finn's shoulder, the other on Jesse's. He knows Rachel won't let Jesse kick Finn's ass, but she wouldn't influence Finn, so he focuses on his best friend. Meanwhile, Quinn shakes Finn's fingers loose from Rachel's arm and gently leads her aside.

Rachel is crying and rubbing the sore spot where Finn grabbed her, Quinn trying to calm her down, and Finn's teeth chatter against each other in anger. "What the fuck are you doing here? Why the fuck are you with Rachel? And who the hell says she's _your _girl? Rachel's mine!"

"Finn!" Rachel yelps in protest. Jesse laughs darkly.

"Have you finally lost your fucking mind, Hudson? Rachel is _my _girl, she's having-"

But Puck cuts Jesse off with a warning look, and Jesse 's eyes flick quickly to where a panicked Rachel is standing. He softens visibly and Puck lets go of his shoulder because, if there is one thing that Puck knows, it's that Jesse is crazy about Rachel and will never do anything remotely harmful to her – at least not anymore. "Rachel is my girlfriend. _Mine_, Hudson, so you have to move your sorry ass on", he walks to where Rachel's standing and wraps his arms around her. "I'm sorry, baby", he whispers. Finn's eyes darken dangerously and he watches as his ex-girlfriend walks away with her new boyfriend. Once they're out of sight, Puck lets him go. "What the hell is going on?" He demands to know, and Quinn rolls her eyes.

"Obviously, Berry and St. James are back together", she says as she clicks her locker open. Finn gapes at her and she rolls her eyes again. "St. James is right, Finn, you _have _to move on. Rachel did".

Puck nods at his childhood friend and wraps an arm around Quinn's waist. The two of them walk away, Finn being left behind completely furious and lost. _What the hell is going on?_

* * *

**R**achel rounds up all the gleeks in the auditorium. Finn is looking at her like he's trying very hard to read her – and failing miserably, because never once does she let go of her perfect show face. Jesse stands in the shadows at the back of the auditorium, she can feel his hawk-like stare on her, making her skin tingle and prickle on the most delicious way. She takes a seat on the stool placed middle stage; Noah sits down next to her, Quinn by his side. Finn sits on Rachel's other side and he opens his mouth to speak but she cuts him sharply. "Not now, Finn", she hisses, and rushes out of the auditorium to find Mr. Schue talking to Miss Pillsbury on the hall. She asks him to follow her, and she sees the moment he catches sight of Jesse.

She tiredly massages her temple at her teacher's confused stare. "I'll explain all later, Mr. Schue", she says as she walks to the stage and he settles down on his desk in the middle of the audience. She notices he stands directly in front of Jesse and it relaxes her because for now he is unseen.

Each and every one of them tells Mr. Schue what they were before he entered in their lives with glee club. Finn says he never had a man to look up to and it breaks her heart. She says it doesn't matter what the judges say because they've won, and Mercedes wraps it up with a beautiful little speech of how Glee is Mr. Schue and now all of them too. They sing "To Sir With Love" and everyone is crying. She holds Noah's hand and smiles at Quinn, who is holding Noah's other hand.

Her eyes meet Jesse's over Mr. Schue's shoulder and she smiles tearfully at him, who smiles lovingly and discretely wipes his eyes. Finn is the first out of the door, and Matt, Mercedes, Mike, Kurt, Santana and Brittany are right behind him. Artie and Tina leave shortly after and then it's just her, Noah, Quinn, Mr. Schue and Jesse on the auditorium.

"It was beautiful, Rachel", Mr. Schue compliments her quietly and then leans back. "Now… What is Jesse doing here? I've noticed that you, Puck and Quinn don't seem surprised at all of his presence". He nods at Jesse, who steps out of the shadows to come stand next to Rachel. Her hand finds his and he squeezes hers softly, reassuringly.

Rachel takes a deep breath. "Jesse and I are back together, Mr. Schue", she announces quietly, and Mr. Schue looks surprised, blinking slowly before nodding equally slow.

"I see. And…" He nervously clears his throat. "… May I ask when did this happen? Because last time I've checked, he had crushed an egg on your head, Rachel".

Rachel hangs her head and breathes deeply, Jesse and Quinn flinch and Noah sighs. "This weekend, after Regionals. There are… some special circumstances that tied Jesse and I back together, but we have discussed everything that has happened and we've decided we want to carry on with our romantic relationship. We would like for you to keep your silence about the matter, Mr. Schue, and respect our privacy". She looks at Jesse, and their friends and teacher notice they seem to have an entire conversation with just this glance. Rachel sighs and nods and Jesse wraps his arm around her shoulder, bringing her closer.

"Mr. Schue, you're about to become privy of a secret. My and Jesse's secret, and we'd like for you to likewise respect our privacy and not share it with anyone. No one knows it but us and Noah and Quinn, and now you".

Mr. Schue nods hesitantly, and Rachel takes a deep breath. "I'm with child".

Mr. Schue's mind spins with this new knowledge. "With child?" He repeats meekly, stunned into silence. Rachel nods and Jesse stares at him, silent but solid by her side, and he doesn't need to ask who is the father, first because Rachel isn't like Brittany or Santana who jump from bed to bed – she's a romantic at heart; second, because Jesse's whole stance has changed: he keeps a protective arm around Rachel, wrapping his long, lean body around Rachel's smaller one. His eyes flick briefly at his former student, and he gives the boy a fleeting smile. "Double congratulations are in order, I think, Jesse?"

Jesse smiles slightly. "Just for the baby, Mr. Schue". He looks down at Rachel, and the adoration and love and happiness are there for the world to see. "It's the best thing to ever happen to me".

Mr. Schue smiles sincerely and rises from his seat, walking around it to shake Jesse's hand and hug Rachel. He leans against his desk and looks at them seriously. "You two do know it won't be easy, right?"

The recently reconciled couple nods. "But we want this, Mr. Schue. _I_ want this with Rachel. Her pregnancy might've been accidental but it's no mistake". Jesse exudes his usual, cool confidence, but Schue notices he looks more like a man than a boy. He knows he's young and he knows he's not supposed to be expecting a child, but still he embraced it, and Rachel, and was thankful. He can see the silent, strong support Quinn and Puck are offering the couple, and he nods. "Just so we're clear, Jesse: next time you hurt Rachel, I'll let Puck beat you up", he says good-naturedly, and Rachel and Quinn giggle while Puck smirks and Jesse widens his eyes, before smiling and nodding.

"Glad to have it out, Jesse. Now, if you guys excuse me, I need to go pack".

* * *

**T**he next morning, routine is pretty much the same. Jesse sleeps over at Rachel and drives her to school; this time, he drops her off at front door and warns her he'll go to Carmel to pick up some stuff from home. She reminds him to come for glee practice because they've decided last night to open up with the gleeks about their reconciliation and the baby, and he nods and drives away. He does go to his parents' house – but on the way back to Lima, he makes a quick stop at a small, cottage-like house. He rings the doorbell and his former glee coach smiles pleased at him, her new daughter safely tucked on the crook of her arm. "Jesse! It's so good to see you! Come in!" She steps aside and closes the door behind him. "I thought you'd be in LA by now!"

"Uh, no, something came up during the weekend, that's why I'm here to talk to you, Shelby…"

Shelby looks concerned. "Have a seat, please. I'll just put Beth down for her nap…" She vanishes into the house and comes back minutes later, baby monitor firmly in her hand. She sets it on the center table and sits across from him. "So, what happened?"

He takes a deep breath. "Rachel and I are back together. We're having a baby".

Her face is blank for a moment and then she says slowly. "Rachel? My Rachel? My daughter? Rachel Berry?"

He snorts. "If I remember correctly, you told her you wanted nothing to do with her", he says coolly and sighs when she flinches. "Which Rachel do we both know I've been recently involved with? Of course it's Rachel Berry. She's pregnant with my child".

Shelby gapes at him. "I don't… I don't know what you want me to say", she says slowly.

He rises. "Shelby, you basically shook my life upside down so you could have a relationship with the daughter you signed your rights away, but when it came down to it you tossed her aside like she was less than nothing, as if her feelings didn't matter. She was so _excited _to meet you, so _hopeful_, but also _terrified_. She has this desperate need to be wanted, to be liked, to be even _loved_, and I know she questions who will love her when her own mother doesn't?" He paces in front of her, agitated. "Rachel is 16, Shelby. And she's so amazing, so mature for her age, but she's just a kid. And now she's pregnant. She _needs _her mother right now, more than Beth, because all Beth does is to sleep and to eat and to wet and to poop her diapers. And Rachel is facing a life-changing situation. I'll be here for her all the while, but she needs her parents too. And you, you're her _mother_. You don't stop being someone's mother because they're grown up and you've adopted a new baby". He sighs and runs his hand through the thick mop of hair on his head. "Just… think. She needs you. I need you. Your grandchild needs you".

He slips outside and Shelby is left stunned silent in his wake.

**

* * *

M**r. Schue and Noah just finished singing 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' when Jesse strolls in. Quinn smiles at him, Puck nods and she runs over to hug him. Finn is fuming in his chair and the rest of her teammates are shocked into silence. Jesse hugs her and kisses her hair, asking quietly how they – she and the baby – are doing. She smiles and says everything has been great.

All of a sudden – or maybe not – questions and complaints and everything start being fired at us. Mr. Schue claps twice to settle everyone down. "Okay, everybody, let's cool down and allow Rachel and Jesse to speak".

Rachel looks up at Jesse, who looks down at her, nods and kisses her forehead. She turns in his embrace so that his entwined fingers rest over my stomach, warm and calloused, and she draws strength from the contact. She focuses on Quinn, who is smiling encouragingly, and I giggle as Noah subtly shifts so that he's close to Finn.

"Rachel's pregnant", Jesse blurts out.


	6. 5

**Author's Note: **Whoa, guys! I'm so excited with the response I've been getting to this story! It's so cool to know that St. Berry has such a large fan base! Keep the favorites, the alerts and the reviews coming. They keep me inspired.

For this to work Rachel lost her virginity to Jesse after 'Bad Reputation', everything else happened exactly the same as it did in canon.

Both Jesse and Rachel will basically rant a lot in this chapter so please bear with me. Jesse's speech is basically _everything _I think about Finn, and those who disagree are my guests to prove why Finn isn't such a baby. (For me Finn is a kid; Rachel needs a man)

**Disclaimer: **Not mine. Just having fun. The inspiration for this chapter's Glee confront against St. Berry comes a bit from Original Groffette's epic, amazing story _How Can You Mend a Broken Heart_, which is one of my favorite St. Berry stories.

**Summary: **At 17, Jesse St. James has his life all planned out. But then Rachel calls. And he's forced to concoct a new plan: one that includes Rachel… and his child.

**Fatherhood**

_**Five**_

"**R**achel's pregnant", Jesse blurts out.

The silence that falls over the other nine teenagers is thick with shock and tension. Rachel closes her eyes tight and mentally counts the seconds that tick in the clock on the wall until someone reacts.

Unsurprisingly, Finn is the first one to come to his senses. His reaction is not at all unexpected. He punches Jesse on the face, and Jesse stands his ground but Quinn rushes forward and gently tugs Rachel away from him. Brittany comes to stand with them and Rachel watches with anguish as Finn punches Jesse repeatedly. Tears bubble in her eyes and Quinn wraps an arm around her shoulders; Rachel falls against the blonde. Puck glances at Mike and Matt who nod, and he steps in the middle of Finn and Jesse while Matt locks Finn's arms back, and Mike simply puts a hand on Jesse's shoulder.

"Think of Rachel, man". He says quietly; in response, Jesse's eyes roam around and find her crying against Quinn. He goes to the two girls and puts his hand on Rachel's shoulder. She turns to him and falls against him, sobbing. Matt and Puck are still holding a struggling Finn, but it's clear for everyone else that Jesse and Rachel are in the own little world. He hums something to her that has her calming down, and they whisper to each other. She nods and wiping her eyes turns to face the music. Kurt and Mercedes are glowering at her, Artie and Tina look stunned; Santana seems slightly bored.

"How could you do this to me, Rachel? To us?" Finn shouts trying to fight off Matt, but Puck is there too, his hand still firmly holding him back by his shoulder, and the anguish in Rachel's face gives place to a burning fury that has Mike, Quinn, Jesse and Puck flinching, because they all know it won't be pretty.

"To _us_?" She hisses dangerously. "There hasn't been an 'us' since you dumped me to go frolic on a date with Santana _and _Brittany! I've been with Jesse and only Jesse since that day, Finn! And once Jesse walked in my life and showed me there was no need for me to change in order to find a boyfriend, you lost all your chances!" She's shouting now, and Jesse watches raptly, because this is Rachel Berry fighting for what she believes. She's a force of nature, his girl, and his love for her just grows moment by moment.

"He egged you!" Mercedes pipes up, and Finn nods. Rachel turns so quickly that Brittany has a little whiplash.

"So? He did it to _me _and if you think this hasn't been talked over and over between him and me, then you're seriously mistaken. But, what am I saying? You guys – all of you – never took the time to know me. But, the minute someone does, you immediately think he's using me. At least, Jesse never told me I was replaceable!"

"He TP-ed our choir room, Rachel!" Finn yells, and Rachel turns to him.

"Finn Hudson, you really don't want to bring this up". She hisses.

"Yeah, I do!"

"Fine. Jesse egged me and TP-ed our choir room. Let's count what _you _did to me, shall we?" Puck flinches and curses quietly because he knows it won't be pretty. "First, you slushie me and egg me, before you join glee. Then you join and you kiss me and then tell me it was a mistake. Then you criticize me for trying to actually improve New Directions by hiring Dakota Stanley" Jesse chuckles at this because that dwarf man is crazy. Rachel would keep up with him but the rest of them wouldn't, he's sure of it. "Then when I quit, you ask me out (without telling me your girlfriend is pregnant, by the way) just so you can have a singing scholarship through _my _talent. And when I kiss you in said date, you kiss me back. Oh, and let's not forget that you never once told me Quinn was with child, you left me to find it out by myself. Then I start dating Noah and you have the _nerve _to be jealous!"

Jesse puts a hand on her shoulder to calm her down – she's so worked up that it cannot be good for the baby. She takes a deep breath and carries on, "Then Kurt gives me a makeover that makes me look like a prostitute – thanks a lot, Kurt". She says ironically, and Jesse's pleased that Kurt looks a little ashamed. "And you call me a 'sad clown hooker'!-"

"Man, are you fucking gay?" Mike pipes up, and Matt nods by his side.

"Rach looked _hot_!" Matt says, and Rachel smiles at them.

"Thank you, boys. Anyway. After all that, you still walked away from us on the eve of one of the most important competitions for New Directions. And, once you have me, you break up with me with a lame excuse of needing to find your _inner rockstar_! And, once I find Jesse, you suddenly decide you want me, coming to the point of tarnishing the fond memory I have of Noah singing 'Sweet Caroline' to me and serenading and embarrassing me by singing 'Jesse's Girl' in front of everyone! Face it, Finn – you don't like me. You like the fact that whenever you're single or on a cheating mood, I was already there for you. But guess what? Not anymore! I'm with Jesse now, he's is _my boyfriend_, the _father_ of _my_ baby and, if the rest of you can't seem to accept that, then good luck competing without my talent!" She storms away, and Brittany, Quinn, Tina and Santana (!) all rush behind her.

Jesse approaches Finn and punches him hard on the face. Puck smirks and Jesse growls furiously, "She is _my _girl, Hudson. You better move the fuck on because I know I might not be perfect but I'm smart enough to see that Rachel is as perfect as someone can be, and I'll spend the rest of my life making sure that she knows this and how grateful I am that she allowed me back into her life and my child's life".

He then turns to the rest of them. "I don't give shit about you. If you want to go ahead and hate me, then by all means, be my guest. But I won't tolerate if Rachel pays for falling in love with me and for me falling in love with her. She is pregnant and our child, _my _child, is an innocent. If you do anything to endanger Rachel and our baby's health, I swear to God I won't stop until she transfers to Carmel. At least there she'll be adored, admired and respected, not only because of her talent, but because of the extraordinary human being she is". He makes a pause and focuses on Mercedes, Kurt and Artie. "I'm so sorry you guys are blind by envy and jealousy to see that having Rachel against you as she is right now is _your _loss and not hers. She has Puck and Quinn and me-"

"-us too", Mike and Matt cut in, and Jesse grins at them.

"-and now Mike and Matt and they're more than enough. One would think that misfits like you would be more welcoming and understanding, but it turns out that you're more judgmental than the other kids".

Finn scoffs. "And so says Mr. Know-It-All".

Jesse looks at him calmly. "I'm not a know-it-all, Finn. From the moment that Rachel told me she was pregnant, Saturday night, I'm her life partner and a father. And maybe you were too much of a punk to be both of this – cheating on your pregnant girlfriend with Rachel-"

"It wasn't my baby!" Finn yells.

"It doesn't matter. Back then you thought it was and never once you stopped to think how much Quinn's life would change because of her pregnancy. Even when being forced to grow up you remained selfish and self-centered. 'How does this affect _me_?' is your default mode to go. You've just yelled it to Rachel, how she could do it to _you_. Guess what, dude? Rachel doesn't lead her life thinking how she can fuck you up. She lives by what is best for her and I've proven time and time enough that the best for her is me. So back the fuck off and leave my girlfriend, my baby and me the hell alone. Otherwise, you all know what I'm capable to do". He leaves and once he's out Matt lets Finn go. _The nerve of St. Jerk! _Finn huffs angrily, and he doesn't notice how affected the others are by Jesse's long speech.


	7. 6

**Author's Note: **Whoa, guys! I'm so excited with the response I've been getting to this story! It's so cool to know that St. Berry has such a large fan base! Keep the favorites, the alerts and the reviews coming. They keep me inspired.

For this to work Rachel lost her virginity to Jesse after 'Bad Reputation', everything else happened exactly the same as it did in canon. Rachel is 16. She conceived somewhere around May 4th (the day _Bad Reputation_ aired) May 11th (the day _Dream On _aired).

Note for _To Be a Father_ readers: I'm struggling with the new chapter! I'm not good on the Puckleberry friendship and I'm not exactly sure of what I want to say in the new chapter. But keep holding on (no pun intended) because as soon as I figure it out it will be written and posted!

If anyone wants to know, the song Jesse hums is 'Angel'. I love this song and it screams St. Berry to me.

**Disclaimer: **Not mine. Just having fun. The inspiration for this chapter's Glee confront against St. Berry comes a bit from Original Groffette's epic, amazing story _How Can You Mend a Broken Heart_, which is one of my favorite St. Berry stories.

**Summary: **At 17, Jesse St. James has his life all planned out. But then Rachel calls. And he's forced to concoct a new plan: one that includes Rachel… and his child. ""

**Fatherhood**

_**Six**_

**J**esse finds a heavily-breathing Rachel on the first empty classroom, surrounded by Quinn, Santana, Brittany and Tina. Quinn is quietly urging her to calm down (apparently she's still extremely worked up after her long rant at Hudson, minutes ago), so he strolls in and takes her in her arms. She's stiff for a moment, and then relaxes in his arms, her fingers curling around the black cotton shirt he's wearing. He hums slightly (she recognizes it – it's an Aerosmith song; she just can't remember the name), and then whispers against her hair, "You have to calm down, Rach. He's not worth it".

She nods but still stays locked in his embrace. She would never imagine she would be forced to remind Finn of everything he had done to her before and after he joined Glee – and she's shocked at how petty and immature he's behaving. It's like he is this whole new Finn that she doesn't know, and, frankly, she is pretty sure she _doesn't _want to know.

Yes, so Jesse egged her and broke her heart. But she remembers the look in his eyes while those poor baby chicks were being wasted on her – the hurt and the pain and the blankness. She remembers how he stayed put until that detestable girl in Vocal Adrenaline urged him to do it. She remembers how he stared at the egg and how he didn't break on her until she urged him to do so. "Do it. Break it like you broke my heart", she'd said.

She believes they're different people now. And now, now it's not only about the two of them. There's a tiny little baby growing inside of her, a little person that is half her and half him, who they both already love fiercely. They are a family now, a mother and a father anxiously waiting for their child. The weight of this is heavy on her shoulders and she begins shivering despite the thick heat of the beginning of summer.

Jesse sees the four girls exchanging anxious glances; he himself is starting to grow nervous with her silence. He knows he has to take her away from there but first he has to calm her down. He stares at Quinn pleading silently for her to leave them alone and she nods before ushering Tina, Santana and Brittany outside. Santana is the last one out the door and she hesitates for a moment. "Berry?" She says quietly. "Good to know you have a bone buried somewhere underneath all that sweetness". She nods at the two of them and closes the door. Rachel stares stunned up at Jesse, who's chuckling quietly.

"Did you… Did you hear what I just heard?" She asks, and he laughs, cradling her cheeks on his hands and kissing her passionately. She responds immediately, her fingers curling around his silky black locks and tugging him closely. His tongue slides along her full, pouty lips and she allows him entrance, the tip of her tongue meeting his.

"I think", he breathes while still kissing her, "you looked so hot laying down the law, babe", he wraps his arms around her and lifts her effortlessly, her legs coming to wrap around his waist. He's instantly hard – she has this effect on him; his own private personal sex goddess – and carries her to the teacher desk, where he sits, Rachel nestled on his lap. He can feel the heat of her core through the thin fabric of her panties and the thick denim of his pants, and he groans. "Fuck, baby…" He mumbles, against her lips, and she giggles.

"Jesse, we're at school…" She says, but he carries on kissing her.

"Fuck it. We're in summer vacation anyway. It's not like someone will walk in on us", his hands slide under her white cotton blouse and find the smooth skin of her back. "I need you, Rach", he mumbles, and she moans, because she can feel the bulge on his pants and he just feels so good.

"No, Jesse…" She says regretfully, leaning away but staying in his lap. He pouts playfully at her and she giggles. "I swear I'll make up to you at home", she pecks his lips and teases him with a smirk. "I thought I deserved epic romance? Since when does a desk at school configure epic romance?"

He smirks, slipping his hands from under her shirt. "I _gave_ you epic romance – and epic orgasms – the night we conceived Baby St. James. Have you forgotten already?" He says in mock hurt, and she laughs.

"Maybe I have", she smiles innocently, and he widens his eyes.

"Babe…"

"It's best that you take me home, no? Since I have a very, very comfy bed and – may I remind you – _no parents_?" She suggests with a little teasing glimmer in her eyes. She laughs when he stands up, carrying her bridal-style to car. "Jesse! I can walk, you know?"

"Sure you can, babe", he replies with an easy smile, but soon he's smirking predatorily. "But I'll make sure you can't tomorrow", Jesse whispers, and she blushes deeply.

**

* * *

T**he next day, a very sore Rachel Berry (Jesse always makes good of his promises) winces as she walks in her physician's office, Jesse by her side, smirking every time he notices the little scowl on her glowing face. "I should make you carry me everywhere", she grumbles, and he laughs.

"You don't have to ask, you know. If you're that sore, I can carry you around. It's no sweat", he says with an arm wrapped around her waist. "Besides, you're the one who wanted to leave the house. I'd rather be having my way with you", he whispers, and she shivers.

"You're a pig", she states primly, and he chuckles.

"Yeah, but you love me".

She smiles slightly and kisses him softly. "Beat me why, but yes, I do".

He smirks cockily. "Baby, c'mon, you know why you love me. I'm hot, talented, smart, romantic and driven. I mean – what's not to love in me?"

"Your ego", she teases, and he smirks.

"Honey, the day I'm modest, send me to the nearest hospital because I'm sick", he says, and she giggles. A maternal-looking nurse appears at the doctor's office door with a paper on her hand, and Rachel and Jesse look up.

"St. James?" She calls, and Jesse looks questioningly at Rachel, who shrugs and smiles while getting up.

"Your baby, your name", she says, holding his hand as she leads him toward the older woman.

**

* * *

D**r. Eloise Powell is only slightly older than the two of them – Rachel guesses she's in her mid-twenties – but she smiles friendly at her and Jesse, and Rachel's relieved she doesn't detect judgment or contempt at the physician's eyes. "Rachel St. James? Nice to meet you. I'm Eloise. Please sit", she invites, and Rachel blushes slightly.

"Actually, it's Berry. Rachel Berry", she corrects. "St. James is my boyfriend's last name; he's the baby's father". She explains, and Eloise nods because it makes sense.

Jesse holds out his hand with a winning smile, and Eloise takes it with a nod. "Jesse St. James", he introduces while taking a seat next to Rachel.

"So, Rachel, how old are you?"

"Sixteen. I had my last period seven weeks ago", she adds, and Jesse holds her hand tightly. Eloise juts notes down on a brand new file, asking about Rachel's and Jesse's personal health and their families' health. After all the questions are made and answered, all the data carefully collected and written down, Eloise hands Rachel a white tunic open on the back.

"We need a sonogram made to have your due date, so, if you may…" She sends Rachel to the adjoining bathroom and turns to Jesse. "Cousin… Do your parents know you got your girlfriend pregnant?" She asks quietly, and Jesse snorts.

"El, come on. They're never home. Hell, _I _almost am never home – either crashing at Tom's or at Rachel's since she told me she's pregnant".

Eloise nods and picks up the file. "How long are you guys together?"

"Three months, ten days and a few hours", Jesse replies automatically, and blushes when Eloise raises her eyebrows, surprise written on her face.

"That long? It's serious then", she says with a soft smile. The question is unnecessary – Jesse had never ever dated anyone for more than three weeks, and definitely never had sex without contraception.

Eloise doesn't miss the way Jesse smiles softly as he hears Rachel changing inside the bathroom, and it pleases her because she had earlier noticed the adoring way Rachel looked at Jesse. Her cousin, she thinks, needs some love, and her new patient had plenty of that to give him. "She's the love of my life, El".

"Good", she says with a smile, and smiles at Rachel when she shows up (Jesse thinks she looks adorable with the tunic). "So, Rachel, ready to see your baby?"

"Yeah", Rachel replies with an excited smile, and holds Jesse's hand tightly. The two teens follow Eloise to an adjoining room, and Rachel lies down on a stretcher, squealing when Eloise applies gooey transparent gel on her stomach. "It's cold!" She whines to Jesse, who chuckles and comes to sit next to her, their hands still together. Eloise picks the detector and slides it along the gel on Rachel's belly, smiling as the insides of Rachel's womb comes in focus. She turns to look at the teens and almost laughs at their wrinkled foreheads. (They're not seeing a thing)

After some minutes, Eloise runs a finger along a comma-shaped little thing on the screen."Here's your baby, Rachel. It seems everything is fine with your child. Unfortunately we still can't tell the sex, but next month I think we can". She presses a button and a quick, strong, rhythmic rumble fills the low lit room. Jesse and Rachel turn questioning eyes at Eloise and she smiles. "Mommy and daddy, that's your baby's heartbeat".

Rachel's eyes immediately fill with tears, and she looks at Jesse – whose cheeks are already wet with his own. He looks down at her and presses a kiss to her lips, mumbling softly against them, "I love you, so, so much".

"I love you too" she whispers back.

**

* * *

A**fter telling Jesse he found an amazing woman in Rachel while Rachel put her clothes back on ("You better not fuck it up, St. James", she says sternly), and giving Jesse and Rachel a due date – late February, early March –, a DVD, a CD and bunch of images from the sonograms, Eloise sends Rachel and Jesse on their way. She's talking excitedly about doing a scrapbook on her pregnancy – "so our child can look back on it and see how excited we were while preparing for her or his arrival", Rachel reasons – when Jesse says, "Eloise is my cousin. She liked you".

Rachel stops and stares at him for a moment before smiling. "I liked her too. She's very trustworthy. She won't tell your parents, will she?"

"I doubt it. My parents are almost never home, Rach", he says, and she nods, remembering the times he snuck in her home after pretending to leave for her fathers' sake, because he hated going to his house or to his uncle's house.

She opens her mouth to say something when her phone rings. Picking it up, she frowns because she doesn't recognize the number, and presses a button to accept the call. "Hello, Rachel Berry speaking?"

"Rachel?" A soft, unsure voice asks, and Rachel freezes in the middle of the sideway, eyes wide on her now pale face.

"Shelby?" She asks, and Jesse frowns while holding her hand reassuringly. "Is everything okay? Something wrong?" Rachel's mind immediately comes up with the worst scenarios, because if she recalls it finely (and she does, thank you), Shelby wanted to keep their relationship a distant one. So why is she calling now?

"Yes, yes, everything is fine. I was just wondering…" But then a crying infant interrupts her, and Rachel's mind goes blank. "Oh, crap, Beth…"

Beth. Noah's daughter. _Quinn_'s daughter.

The phone falls from Rachel's hand as she realizes that once again she came second to Quinn Fabray – or her daughter, on the case.


	8. 7

**Author's Note: **Keep the reviews coming! I love to know what you guys think – a special shout out to my faithful reviewers (and great friends) Queen and Ash (who even though being a PR diehard fan – as me – still reads and reviews every chapter of this). And to Ellie too – I'm beta for her story and she's put upon herself the moral duty to peer-pressure me into updating this LOL. Thank you guys for the support!

**Disclaimer: **Not mine. Just having fun. If I owned Glee, Rachel would have sent Finn to the crack house, Matt would still be around and St. Puckleberry would be a reality.

**Summary: **At 17, Jesse St. James has his life all planned out. But then Rachel calls. And he's forced to concoct a new plan: one that includes Rachel… and his child.

**Fatherhood**

_**Seven**_

**H**e hears the loud clang of her cell phone hitting the pavement and panics. Kneeling in front of her, he looks down at her and notices – the broken, unfocused eyes; the quivering lips; the deathly pale face. "Rach?" He whispers softly, growing aware of the concerned fleeting looks of those around them. "Rachel?" He repeats, a little louder, but she seems entranced. Frantic now, he picks her phone and places it against the shelf of his ear – and what he hears freezes the blood in his veins.

Shelby is crooning softly, a wailing baby almost drowning her voice, and Jesse turns the phone off, shoving it in his pocket before picking Rachel up in his arms and carrying her to his car. Her catatonic silence is slowly driving him insane – a quiet Rachel is _never_ a good thing – and once they arrive at her house he turns to her. "Baby?" He whispers softly, and she blinks, eyes focusing on him. Suddenly he is met with tear-filled brown pools, and with a soft sigh he pulls her to his lap, lips pressing various kisses to her forehead. "It'll be alright, Rach, I promise", he whispers, feeling his shirt wet where Rachel's cheek is resting against his chest.

"She… She adopted Quinn's baby, Jesse", Rachel whispers, and Jesse rubs her back, rocking her back and forth the best he can on the confined space of his car. She clings to him tightly, and his heart breaks for another disappointment Shelby unknowingly inflicted on her (older) (real) (firstborn) daughter. Rachel exhales a heartbroken little sob and lifts up tearful eyes to meet his. "Why doesn't anyone love me?" She whispers, and he freezes, half furious, half perplexed.

"No, baby, no… It's not that, it's not _your _fault, Rachel!" He argues quietly.

"It is! It must be – everyone is always picking someone or something else over me! Noah chose Quinn, Finn chose Quinn and then his fucking precious reputation, my parents are always traveling, my mother picked a baby – even you left!" She's agitated in his arms and he struggles to keep her in his embrace, but she manages to fight him off and leaves the car. Swearing loudly at Shelby, he runs after her and manages to catch her before she can slam the door on his face, and she whirls around to face him. "Jesse, tell me the truth", she begs, desperate. "You're with me only because I'm pregnant, aren't you? Tell me the truth, I won't keep you from our child, but I need to know the truth!"

He acts before he thinks, his hands coming to rest on her cheeks and forcing her to look at him. "Rachel, for one minute, stop being you and listen to me. No one is forcing me to be here. I'm here because I love _you _– both of you. And you – you're the most amazing, most beautiful, most perfect woman in the world. Don't you know by now that I do as I please? And I want to be with you, and our baby, forever".

She falls in tears on his arms, and he cradles her on his embrace, his hands rubbing her back. "I don't know why Shelby chose to do it – and I was so pissed at her when I found out. She basically shook our lives upside down to in the end make a stupid decision. But, baby, you now have the chance to prove her she's wrong – to prove her you need her more than Beth does right now".

She sniffles and looks up at him, eyes swimming with more tears. "You think so?"'

"I know so, baby".

**

* * *

T**hey spend the rest of the day cuddling together on her bedroom, his hand rubbing against her flat stomach, tickling her and making her giggle. She puts her hands on his cheeks and kisses him, smiling brightly. "You know, I never told dad and daddy we broke up", she says casually, and he chuckles.

"We took a break, baby, we never broke up per se", he corrects her and she rolls her eyes, waving her hand dismissively. "Why didn't you?"

She bites her lower lip and blushes adorably before smiling shyly. "I thought that, if I kept it secret from them, then maybe it meant we could work it out". She looks at him with a timid smile. "If my parents were unaware that we had split up, then I could pretend for a little while longer you would find your way back to me".

"And find my way back to you I did, my love", he smiles softly pressing a kiss to her lips. She runs her fingers through his thick, silky curls, opening her mouth to his persuasive tongue, shifting so she's lying more comfortably on her back, underneath his hard, lean body. They're getting hot and heavy on her bed – he's happily lavishing the tender skin of her soft neck with attention, and she's moaning melodically on his ear – when his phone rings startling them both.

"Let it ring", she whispers breathlessly, and he nods, lips returning to her neck, her warm little hands under his shirt, caressing his skin, but the persistent ring carries on. They're happily unaware of it – they've managed to tune it out – but then her house phone rings and she freezes up, as does Jesse. They exchange a glance and he rolls off of her with a groan. "Go answer it, go on", he tells her with a soft kiss on her lips as he reaches out to his phone. She scurries out of her bedroom, towards the living room, and he checks out the caller ID, groaning and bonking his head against her soft pillows with eyes tight shut as he flips the phone open. "What, Shelby?" He bites out.

"Jesse, oh thank goodness!" She sounds frantic but relieved, and he rolls his eyes. "I've been trying to reach Rachel again but her phone goes straight to voicemail! I've called her earlier and-"

"I know what happened, I was there, Shelby. You called her and she heard Beth crying and you being all 'mommy-dearest' to your new baby", he hisses angrily, rubbing his hand down his face. "Fuck, Shelby, you know how to pick your moments, don't you?"

"Is she alright? Is the baby fine?" She asked worriedly, and Jesse rolls his eyes.

"Now you care?" He spats venomously, and he can almost see her flinching.

"I always cared about her, Jesse…" Shelby says weakly, but he cuts her off.

"Have you? Really?" He sighs and rubs his forehead. "I'm new at this parenthood thing. My baby is a speck in a sonogram for me. And I'm thankful that Rachel was mature enough to think of our baby before anything and call me to tell me about being pregnant. But, even if she didn't, even if I found out about my child when it's twenty, even then I would care and love and make it a part of my life as much as possible. You know why? Because it's part Rachel, part me. It's something we did together. It's what is going to stay behind when we no longer exist in this world".

"It's not the same situation, Jesse…"

"I know it's not. I know you didn't make Rachel out of love. You became a surrogate for the Berry couple out of greed, because you needed money to pursue your dreams. Still, she's half you, Shelby. Fuck, she even looks like you!" He sighs heavily. "Even though you weren't in love with one or both of Rachel's fathers when you got pregnant with her, she's still the one baby you carried inside you. For nine months, she was yours to love, to cherish, to care. And when she was open, willing to a relationship with you, you looked at her and decided she wasn't good enough".

"But do you want to know something? She is more than good enough. Rachel is an amazing human being. She's going to be an amazing woman – hell, she already _is _an amazing woman. And she'll be the best mother. She's warm, generous, driven, dedicated, loyal, faithful, forgiving, beautiful, sweet, kind and so, so loving". He's interrupted into his tirade by a small sob coming from the doorway; he whirls around and comes face to face with Rachel, tears glistening in her eyes and cheeks. But she's smiling as she cries, a big, bright smile that he returns with a smile of his own. She crosses the small space between them and kisses him forcefully, wrapping her arms around his neck, her fingers sinking in his hair and her body fully pressed against him, and he hauls her to him wrapping an arm around her waist, phone still against his ear.

"I love you", she breathes to him. "I love you, so, so much, and of course I thought of your baby when I called you, but I was thinking of us – of you, of me – there's no one else I'd rather have a baby with but you, Jesse St. James". She rains kisses all over his face, smiling and giggling as he chuckles at the touch of her damp, sticky skin. "I love you. Only you, forever. And you'll be an amazing, amazing father".

He drops the phone, his talk with Shelby forgotten, and kisses her fully.

On the other end of the line, his former glee coach's eyes are swimming with tears, as she quietly puts the speaker back on its cradle. She turns to look at the only pictures she has of Rachel – one of Rachel as a baby, taken by the nurse right after Rachel's birth: she was a beautiful, healthy little girl, with hair full of thick jet black hair sticking to the small head and gray-blue eyes. The other is a picture of Rachel on Regionals, glowing and stunning on the black-gold dress, hair falling against her shoulder, singing with her team mates. She remembers how she stood on the wings, across from Schuester, watching her daughter sing like her life depended on it – and awing the audience – feeling bursting pride and infinite joy for the woman she could see lurking in Rachel's shining, playful eyes; on the teasing curve of her smile.

She remembers how Jesse stood next to her, eyes glued to Rachel, a wistfulness on his face that allowed Shelby to know he regretted ever returning to Carmel. She remembers how his eyes narrowed in jealousy as Finn Hudson pressed himself close to Rachel while dancing, how his fists clenched in fury and jealousy. She remembers how she thought New Directions had nailed their performance – how her daughter had led her small show choir to victory – and how proud she was – even prouder than she ever had been of her own show choir's victories.

But, of course, once Rachel found her and invited her to McKinley – a try, she knows now, to build a bridge between them, to forge the bond both longed for – her old insecurities had already returned, wormed their way into her heart, and she carelessly sent Rachel away, acting like her daughter meant close to nothing to her.

Cradling the two pictures of her baby girl on her hands, she sits on her couch – and she cries.

**

* * *

R**achel and Jesse are lying on her bed, her naked body pressed deliciously against him, his fingers tracing shapeless patterns on the skin of her back, when he whispers, "I was there watching you, you know". She looks up at him, curiously, and he elaborates, "During Regionals. I was at the wings watching you. And… And I wanted so badly to be there, with you – pressing myself against you, singing 'Faithfully' to you, smirking at Hudson who no doubt would be glaring daggers at me…" He chuckles and she giggles. He cups her face on his hands and kisses her gently. "You were perfect, baby. Absolutely perfect. I'll never understand what possessed the judges to give Vocal Adrenaline the prize when you guys deserved it so much more".

She snuggles against him. "I watched you too. And I felt like I was going to burst into tears at any second. You looked so… so unhappy up there. In fact…" She frowns pensively and he grins at her, "… you **always **looked upset when you sang with Vocal Adrenaline. When you were with me at McKinley you looked happy and carefree".

"I was the leader of the soulless automatons, remember?" He chuckles, rolling them over so they're both lying on their sides; his fingers slowly trail up and down the voluptuous curve of her waist, making her giggle as it tickles her. "I had to set the example. Besides, I **was **pissed. I wanted to fucking kill Hudson for having his hands all over **my **girl", he adds truthfully, nodding at her shocked expression. "Yeah, baby, I'm a jealous bastard, don't you know that by now? What's mine is mine and I **hate **to share – especially with a talentless oaf like Hudson".

"He's no threat to you whatsoever", she says firmly. "He hasn't been a threat since the first day I sang with you. I love you and only you".


	9. 8

**Author's Note: **Keep the reviews coming! I love to know what you guys think – a special shout out to my faithful reviewers (and great friends) Queen and Ash (who even though being a PR diehard fan – as me – still reads and reviews every chapter of this). And to Ellie too – I'm beta for her story and she's put upon herself the moral duty to peer-pressure me into updating this LOL. Thank you guys for the support!

Short chapter, but I quite liked it, considering that I had been planning for what happens in it to actually take place _after_ the birth of baby St. Berry.

**Disclaimer: **Not mine. Just having fun. If I owned Glee, Rachel would have broken up with Finn after 'Furt', Santana would have told Rachel about Finn and Rachel wouldn't be a virgin.

**Summary: **At 17, Jesse St. James has his life all planned out. But then Rachel calls. And he's forced to concoct a new plan: one that includes Rachel… and his child.

**Fatherhood**

_**Eight**_

**T**heir quiet early evening in is interrupted by the sound of the doorbell ringing, and the house phone ringing again. Sighing, Rachel gets up, slips a pair of panties on, then throws Jesse's black button-down on (he has to fight very hard the urge to just throw her back in the bed and have his wicked way with her, _again_, when he sees her in his clothes, because she looks amazing and so _sexy_). "I'll answer the phone, you get the door?" She asks him, and he nods with a lazy smirk, getting up and sliding his pants and wife beater on. Holding hands, the young couple goes downstairs, Rachel making a beeline for the phone on the den, Jesse pulling the door open and coming face to face with Matt, Mike, Puck, Brittany, Quinn and Santana. "Hey, guys. Can I help you?"

The six teenagers gape at him, before Matt and Mike chuckle, Puck and Santana smirk, Brittany giggles and Quinn rolls her eyes with an indulgent smile. "I don't even wanna know", the former Cheerio says walking past him in the house. "Where's the baby mama?" She asks him, and he points at the den, noticing Santana and Brittany's hands full of bags, the pack of beer under Puck's arm and the pizza boxes Matt is carrying. He frowns questioningly and Brittany smiles.

"We're having a group date!" She squeals happily. "San and I were in charge of movies – hope you like 'Avatar' and Tim Burton's 'Alice' –, Matt brought pizza – veggies for Rachel, of course – and Puck managed to score some booze for you boys and San", she explains, and Jesse is stunned for a moment, because Brittany? She's never pegged him as a talker.

Matt, Mike, Puck and Santana all notice his expression and laugh, the Latina wrapping an arm around her best friend. "C'mon, Brit, let's find Q and Berry and let the boys set everything for our movie night", she says as she passes the bag with the DVD cases to Mike and tugs the blonde towards where she can faintly hear Rachel's voice coming from. The four boys watch fondly as the girls slip in the den, and Jesse slides the sonogram picture in Puck's hand.

"Thought you'd like to see your niece or nephew, Uncle Puck", he teases with a smile, and Puck chuckles and grabs the picture. "We went to that appointment this morning. Everything is just fine with baby St. James". He grins goofily at the picture, and Puck narrows his eyes.

"God, this always fucking sucked. I can't see shit. You're loaded, St. James. Next time you get a 3D sonogram so we can see that baby better", Puck says, and Mike and Matt peer at the picture, just seeing a blur of black and white. "You guys know what it is already?" Puck asks as he passes the picture back at Jesse, who in turn slips it back into his pocket as he closes and locks the front door and shakes his head.

"It's too early. Rachel is not even eight weeks yet. The doctor said that next month she'll be able to tell", the older boy leads them to the massive living room and keeps the door open so he can keep an ear on Rachel, who apparently is still on the phone. "Which movies did the girl pick?" He settles on the couch, knowing Rachel is going to choose to lay there with her head on his lap. Puck takes a seat on the same couch, while Mike settles on the floor and Matt takes the loveseat.

"'Avatar' and 'Alice' and I think I heard Quinn mentioning something about Sandra Bullock, so it's either 'The Blind Side' or 'The Proposal'. Also, I think San picked 'The Hangover'", Puck replies, getting up to go to the kitchen to find a cooler (he has hung out a lot with Berry and Daddies Berry and knows his way around the house. So sue him). He hands a can to Mike, one to Matt and pops open one for himself (he knows St. James doesn't drink). The four boys start discussing Regionals, and the three members from New Directions grill Jesse about Nationals, killing time until their girls return, which they do shortly after.

"Dad and daddy are coming back tomorrow evening", Rachel (now thankfully wearing a loose pair of dark green shorts and a flowy white top) announces as she lies on the couch, her head on Jesse's lap, her feet propped against Puck's thigh. "Oh, and they said to thank you for staying here with me, Jess", she presses a kiss to Jesse's stomach. "They also said you guys are welcome to sleep over if you want", she announces to their friends, and various sounds of agreement come from the six other teens. Santana settles on the left side of Mike, resting lightly against Puck's legs; Brittany cuddles against Mike's right side, and Quinn curls around Matt on the love seat.

(This shift in the Matt/Santana/Puck/Quinn quadrangle is new. Rachel and Jesse look at each other and she nods, making a mental note to grill Quinn and Santana later for information).

"So, what are we seeing?" Rachel asks aloud as she watches Santana take a sip from Puck's beer, Jesse's hands caressing her hair and Puck's fingers massaging her feet. (Yes, the deep friendship between her and Noah is surprising to her too. But she takes it because she knows he needs someone to focus on other than the little girl her mother is raising a few miles from them).

"Well, we've rented 'Avatar', 'Alice', 'The Blind Side', 'The Hangover' and – for the baby mama – 'Chicago'", Santana replies, and Rachel laughs. Matt pops a pizza box open and helps himself to a slice. Quinn gets up and returns moments later with a knife, splitting a slice in two and eating half. The others decide to help themselves too (Rachel and Jesse sharing her veggie pizza), and finally they agree to watch 'The Blind Side' first.

By the time the movie is ending, Jesse's pant leg is soaked with Rachel's tears (Puck and Quinn tease them mercilessly about dealing with waterworks and hormones). Puck slid to the floor and is laying on his back on the carpet, Santana curled around his side. Brittany and Mike are talking quietly to each other, while Matt and Quinn are deep in discussion about the movie. "This is nice" Rachel murmurs to Jesse, who looks wonderingly at her. "This, having my boyfriend and my friends over for a movie marathon with pizza and beer… It's new to me. It's nice", she sits up and leans against him, and he presses a kiss to her temple.

"So, have you guys decided what are you going to do with the baby?" Brittany asks innocently, and the five other teens look questioningly at the parents-to-be (the diva notices the wary expression in Quinn's eyes, the guarded look in Noah's). Rachel smiles and snuggles against Jesse, his hand coming to rest on her still flat stomach.

"We're keeping it", Jesse replies quietly, feeling the tension pouring off Puck's body, the grief in Quinn's face. There is silence, until Matt speaks.

"You guys sure?" He asks quietly. Jesse nods, Rachel caresses her cotton-covered tummy, and Matt smiles slightly. "It's going to be crazy, dude, but we have your backs". Mike nods, and Puck impulsively gets up and storms out.

"Noah!" Rachel cries, getting up, but Jesse puts a hand on her shoulder.

"Let me", he whispers, and she nods. Matt is cradling a crying Quinn, and Rachel decides to take care of her for now. Jesse has Noah and she knows it's for the best.

**

* * *

J**esse finds Puck sitting on the porch, hands on his face, shoulders shaking with what Jesse knows are silent tears. He settles with sitting on the floor next to the crying boy, and once Puck is done crying, Jesse whispers, "It's different, for Rachel and me. To quote you, I'm 'loaded'. I have ways to provide for her and for our child in case our dreams don't work out the way we hope". He is silent for a moment and then continues, "Puck, you and Quinn made the best decision you could considering your situation. You gave your daughter a chance at a happy, healthy, full life with a woman who will adore the ground she walks on-"

"Will she?" Puck interrupts sharply. "Shelby was a bitch to Rachel. And Rachel _is _her daughter. Who can assure me she won't do the same to my baby?"

Jesse sighs. "Shelby kept this image of Rachel as a baby, the only image she had of her. Once she was faced with the reality that Rachel wasn't a baby anymore, she couldn't deal. She never stopped to think what meeting her would mean to Rachel. But with Beth, it's different. With Beth she gets what she wanted from Rachel – someone who needs her guidance". Puck snorts and Jesse rolls his eyes, nodding. "I know. It's stupid".

They stay silent for a moment, and Jesse slaps Puck's back lightly. "I don't think I'd have the strength to do what you did. I'm selfish. Even if I had no way to provide for my baby and my girl, I'd still keep it. You're strong, Puck. It takes a great man to make right for a baby – and you wanted to do it from the start. One day you'll have another child, and you'll make a great father".

Puck nods at him, and the two boys stay quiet on the porch.

Meanwhile, Rachel managed to take Quinn off of Matt's lap and ushered her to her room. The blonde sobbed for a moment against Rachel's shoulder, but is quiet now. "I envy you, Rachel", she whispers quietly, a broken sigh escaping her lips. Rachel looks puzzled at her, and Quinn sighs again, pulling away and leaning against Rachel's bed's headboard, her legs tucked underneath her. "I wanted once to keep Beth. You remember, that night when Finn came over, that week when we sang 'True Colors' at glee?" Rachel nods and Quinn carries on, "While Finn was here, I had Puck over at Terri Schuester's sister's house. We were babysitting her triplets, and Puck was pretty good with them. I entertained the idea of us being a team, raising her together – because I thought he was Noah that night, not Puck – and I decided to tell Finn the truth, but then the next day Santana came up to me and told me to back off because they had been sexting, and I changed my mind".

Rachel listens in shocked silence, her cheeks flaming in embarrassed silence as she remembers how she tried to seduce Finn that evening. _Thank God I never needed to resort to those kinds of desperate measures with Jesse, and never will_, the brunette thinks, respecting Quinn's heavy silence. The blonde seems to regroup her thoughts and carries on.

"Once I decided that, my mind was made. She was never mine to keep. To keep her – it was never rationally a possibility for me. Puck is almost as penniless as a church rat – no matter how hard he worked, we'd end up hating each other – hating and resenting her. And I didn't want that for her. She deserved better, so I gave her the best thing I could. I gave her a mother that would love her". Quinn takes a deep, shaky breath. "I love her, Rachel. I'll always love Beth, and a part of me will always love Puck for giving me her. But I couldn't be the mother she deserves to have".

Rachel wraps an arm around Quinn's shoulders and squeezes them gently. "Quinn… You and Noah weren't ready to have a child. No matter how much you both loved Beth, she wasn't a product of your love for each other. She was an accident, she happened when both of you weren't ready for her to arrive. You had a lapse in judgment and ended up pregnant. Even if you had the emotional and financial structure to raise her, you would look at her and think of the circumstances of her conception. You'd look at her and see a scared and insecure teenager who slept with her boyfriend's best friend. Beth would end up knowing everything and it would be disastrous. You made the best decision you could make".

The brunette sighs deeply and carries on. "Jesse and I, we always knew we were perfect for each other. Our baby, despite being unplanned, is a product of our love for each other. Even if Jesse weren't here with me, I'd still keep my child, because it would be a part of Jesse I got to hold, love and care. What happened with us last month was a bump in our road. I love him, Quinn, and he loves me. We are a couple from the moment he pulled down that Lionel Richie's songbook. The moment my voice melded with his in 'Hello', I knew I had met my match. And no matter what, I'll always love Jesse and only him. Finn did me a favor breaking up with me, to be honest".

The blonde watches her for a moment and gives her a small smile. "You really love him, don't you?" Rachel blushes and nods with a timid grin, and the former Cheerio chuckles. "He's lucky you're so forgiving, Rach". She then pauses and puts her hand on Rachel's belly. "You're going to be an awesome mom. That's one lucky baby".


	10. 9

**Author's Note: **Keep the reviews coming! I love to know what you guys think – a special shout out to my faithful reviewers (and great friends) Queen and Ash (who even though being a PR diehard fan – as me – still reads and reviews every chapter of this). And to Ellie too – I'm beta for her story 'Underground' and she's put upon herself the moral duty to peer-pressure me into updating this LOL (check out her profile for other awesome stories). Thank you guys for the support!

54 days for the SuperBowl episode!

**Disclaimer: **Not mine. Just having fun. If I owned Glee, the rumor of a St. Sunshine shipper would **never **surface.

**Summary: **At 17, Jesse St. James has his life all planned out. But then Rachel calls. And he's forced to concoct a new plan: one that includes Rachel… and his child.

**Fatherhood**

_**Nine**_

**W**ith her glee team mates, glee coach and mother aware of her own impeding motherhood, it leaves only their two sets of parents to learn of the Berry-St. James baby on the way. Rachel is nervous with the prospect of telling daddy and papa about her pregnancy (she makes a secret out of the insane fear of ending up with the same fate Quinn did). Jesse couldn't care less about updating Claire and Jonathan St. James about the state of his personal affairs, but Rachel is vehement: if they're telling her daddies, they're telling his parents too.

Wednesday morning, he gives her a long, loving kiss and makes the journey back to Akron. Hiram and Leroy Berry are scheduled to arrive home from their trip at half past noon, and Rachel wants a moment alone with her fathers before dropping the bomb on them. They agree he is to come back at three in the afternoon, so that they can tell the news together to the grandfathers-to-be.

(They're together every step of the way – that includes disclosing the news to her fathers, and the joint conference call to his mother – who is in Paris – and his father – who is taking care of business in Tokyo).

His uncle Samuel is sitting on the couch, sipping on his faithful sidekick, the beer can, legs leisurely stretched in front of him, feet propped up on the center table. "Sam", he greets with a small smile, sitting on the armchair across from Samuel and mimicking his position. A teasing smile curves Samuel's lips and his eyebrows lift in mocking surprise.

"And he found his way back home!" The older man cries dramatically, the expression in his face setting Jesse's laughter off. "I haven't seen you since… Uh, before your little regionals competition", he takes another gulp from the can and leans back on the couch. "Your girlfriend sang the hell out of everyone else. Had more fun watching her", he says honestly, and Jesse grins proudly.

"I know, Shelby went all the way on the drama department this year", he chuckles, and then sighs. "Sam, uh… Rachel's having a baby", he says quietly. Sam, who is halfway through a chug of beer, chokes on the liquid, spitting it all over his sandaled feet. His eyes are wide in shock.

"She fucking cheated on you?" He bellows, because he remembers Rachel Berry: a petite girl, with a big talent, even bigger heart and eyes that stare at his nephew like the sun shines out of his ass.

Jesse's reaction is immediate. "NO! No, it's my baby, Rachel's having my kid, Sam", he hurries to explain, and Sam is stunned.

"Damn, kid. Never heard of contraception?" He asks, shaking his head in disbelief. "Parental units know already?" Sam asks after a moment, face somber, voice serious.

Jesse shakes his head negatively. "That's why I'm here. I need the phone for mother's hotel in Paris, and father's apartment in Tokyo. We're telling Rachel's parents later today and she wants to tell mother and father too".

A fluid, soft feminine voice interrupts the uncle-nephew conversation. "What do you want to share with us, Jesse, my darling?" It comes from the plump pink lips of a woman in her early forties, with gently-curled dark hair – Jesse's hair – and flawless pale complexion. With wide eyes, Jesse rises from his seat.

"Mother?" He asks in disbelief, turning panicky eyes to his uncle. Claire St. James peeps at her brother, frowning slightly as she catches sight of the can in his hand, but then turns her eyes back at her only son. "What- what are you doing here?" Jesse stammers, trying in vain to contain the concern that blooms in his chest.

A new voice, a throaty male one, joins. "I hadn't realized we needed a reason to come visit our only child". It comes from a man who looks strikingly like an older version of Jesse – tall, lean and elegant, with grey-blue eyes and a generous mouth. Jesse is even more shocked, because having Claire _and _Jonathan St. James at the same time in the same city is not a normal occurrence. Jonathan smiles slightly at Jesse, putting a hand on his wife's shoulder. "I believe congratulations are in order?" He asks more than states, and Jesse looks confused for a moment.

"On your win at Regionals, honey", Claire supplies with a smile, and Jesse visibly relaxes. "I know it's a surprise that we're here, but we decided it was time to come home, since you won't be returning here after the summer".

"Uh…" Jesse ponders for a moment, but the ringing of his phone – 'Hello' – prevents him from having to tell his big news to his parents by himself. "I need to take this, excuse me for a second". He quickly steps away from where his parents stand, and presses the call button on his phone. "Rach? Everything alright?" He asks worriedly.

"Yeah, I guess… Jess, can you please just come? I want to get this over with". Her voice is cracking, borderline hysterical (she hates lying to her fathers, he knows).

"Okay, baby, I'm on my way", he glances quickly back at his parents, who are unabashedly trying to hear in his conversation, his mother's eyes alight with curiosity, then turns his back on them again. "Uh… I told Sam. And…" He runs his fingers through his tousled hair. "My parents are home. They're coming with me". He says, and his face contorts in a grimace at her sharp intake of breath. "We'll be there in five. Okay? Relax, everything is going to be great. I love you, baby".

"Love you too, Jess, see you in five". They disconnect the call and he turns to face his openly surprised parents (Claire is grinning like a little girl on Christmas morning).

"You're coming with me. I want to introduce you to someone", he demands, harsher than he intended to be. Sam raises his now empty beer can in a toast – or goodbye, depending on how the whole Rachel-meeting-the-parents, baby-announcement turns out to be.

The ride to the Berry residence is made in silence, Claire and Jonathan trying to engage their visibly tense son in small talk, but Jesse only replies with monosyllables, noncommittal grunts and silent shrugs. Claire frowns as she recognizes the surroundings and looks even more curiously at her son. But before she can vocalize her question, he parks in front of a house she hasn't set foot in years. The door is flung open and a petite brunette girl all but rushes out of the house, and before Claire or Jonathan can blink, Jesse is outside the car, taking the girl in his arms and pressing soft kisses to her straight black hair.

Claire feels herself tearing up in joy. Jonathan smirks in pride.

Their baby boy is in love. It screams to them – Jesse, who until then was straight as a pole driving the Range Rover, is visibly calmer, more relaxed, clutching (and being clutched by) the girl like his life depends on him. They're having a hushed conversation, lips moving but so quietly that Claire and Jonathan can't hear.

Jonathan and Claire leave the car and he turns to his wife, lifting an eyebrow in recognition. "Isn't this…?"

She nods, eyes glued to the short brunette. "Yes", she replies, but the conversation dies as two men step out of the house, and Claire and the shorter, white man, gasp in surprise in recognition.

"Claire!"

"Hiram!"

**

* * *

I**t turns out that Claire St. James and Hiram Berry? College best friends who lost touch with each other after Claire began to travel the world with Jonathan and then-baby Jesse. Rachel and Jesse are, themselves, shocked – but a quick, quiet conversation in the porch while Hiram and Leroy usher Claire and Jonathan into the house make them both realize that this can work for their advantage.

"Jesse, why didn't you tell me you're seeing Hiram's daughter?" Claire reprimands her son with an affectionate smile. Hiram chuckles while Leroy and Jonathan discuss business, and Rachel and Jesse exchange a tense smile. She leans against his shoulder and whispers against his ear.

"Now?"

He nods tersely, and Rachel takes a deep breath. "Daddy… Papa… Mr. and Mrs. St. James-"

"You can call me Claire, honey", Claire interrupts, and Rachel smiles weakly at her. Jesse steps next to his girlfriend and wraps an arm around her waist, and she leans fully against him. Jonathan and Leroy frown, reading into their body language, and Claire and Hiram wait expectantly.

"Jesse and I want to tell you something", Rachel takes Jesse's hand in hers, and he squeezes it reassuringly, a comforting smile on his lips. She takes a deep breath again, and when she speaks, the words come out in a rush.

"We're having a baby. Due late February, early March".

In the silence that follows, Rachel and Jesse's soft breathing echoes like a rumble. Claire and Hiram are dumbfounded in their shock, Leroy looks astonished, and Jonathan's face is expressionless. The soundlessness makes Rachel antsy and Jesse feels her tensing up, so he begins to hum softly. She quietly hums along, and their natural charisma – the undeniable love between the young teenage couple – slowly brings the adults back to themselves.

"Are you sure?" Leroy, unsurprisingly, is the first to come to his senses, the businessman in him kicking into gear. "Or are you making this affirmation based on a home pregnancy test and calculations on a due date based on the time you last had intercourse?"

Rachel turns teary eyes to her papa. "We went to the clinic Saturday morning. Dr. Powell confirmed my pregnancy and gave me an estimative on my due date", she whispers. Claire and Hiram tear up, and they rush to their children, hugging them tightly. Rachel falls in her daddy's arms, but Jesse is at first stiff and tense in his mother's awkward hug. But, slowly, he relaxes and curls against her – but he never lets go of Rachel's hand, and she holds him equally tight.

Jonathan clears his throat nervously. "Jesse… Are you sure it's yours?"

Five pairs of eyes turn to look at him sharply, three of them narrowing in anger and protectiveness. "Yes, I am", Jesse replies coldly. "Rachel has never been with any man before me and we've been dating since April. The baby she has in her stomach is mine. She's part of _my _family now, father. Deal with it", he then turns back to his mother and she squeezes his arm in support. Jonathan shifts in discomfort and then sighs deeply.

"Fair enough… You do understand then that you're getting married as soon as possible". Rachel gasps and Jesse looks up in shock, both visibly taken by surprise by the suggestion. Jonathan nods once, firmly. "No St. James child has ever been born out of wedlock. My grandchild won't be the first. Rachel, you'll be a St. James as soon as we can get the marriage license in order".

"She can't get married", Leroy interjects once, using the same business-like tone Jonathan is using. "Rachel is fifteen. She turns sixteen in December 18th. Legally, she wasn't even supposed to be having sex. Jesse can be charged with statutory rape".

"Papa!" Rachel gasps in shock, a blush blooming in her cheeks.

"Stop this. Right now", Claire takes charge of the situation, almost glaring at her husband. "Rachel and Jesse aren't getting married-"

"-now", Jesse interrupts his mother, and everyone looks in shock at him. "Rachel and I aren't getting married now. We're in this for the long haul and we want to get married, sure, even though it never came up before, but – at least for me – there isn't anyone else I want to make a Mrs. St. James out of".

"There isn't anyone else I'd consider marrying either", she whispers softly, eyes bubbling with tears, and he flashes a smile at her before turning to face the adults again.

"We're committed to each other. And to our child. But getting married isn't on the cards right now. We're focusing on being good parents to our baby, and one day once we're done with school, we'll get married. But not because 'no St. James child has ever been born out of wedlock'", he openly mocks his father, whose stony expression betrays no hint of what Jonathan St. James is really thinking. But then he sighs and shrugs.

"I guess it's time to renovate the tradition anyway", he mumbles, and Claire and Hiram begin discussing nursery themes and names and whether if it's best to have a grandson or a granddaughter first. Leroy engages Jonathan back in conversation, and Jesse and Rachel fall back on their spots at the couch, Rachel's head coming naturally to rest in his shoulder, his body instinctively curling around hers. They begin to quietly talk amongst each other, and Claire and Hiram exchange a grin.

"I wonder if Anne knows her that ideal daughter-in-law-wannabe is already taken", the woman muses thoughtfully, and Hiram laughs.


	11. 10

**Author's Note: **Keep the reviews coming! I love to know what you guys think – a special shout out to my faithful reviewers (and great friends) Queen and Ash (who even though being a PR diehard fan – as me – still reads and reviews every chapter of this). And to Ellie too – I'm beta for her story 'Underground' and she's put upon herself the moral duty to peer-pressure me into updating this LOL. Thank you guys for the support!

39 days for the SuperBowl episode!

**Disclaimer: **Not mine. Just having fun. If I owned Glee, the rumor of a St. Sunshine shipper would **never **surface.

**Summary: **At 17, Jesse St. James has his life all planned out. But then Rachel calls. And he's forced to concoct a new plan: one that includes Rachel… and his child.

**Fatherhood**

_**Ten**_

**B**efore now, Rachel used to complain about how slow time trickled when summer came. Usually fast paced, the beautiful brunette used to find herself bored when she had no school and only her dance, voice and theatre lessons to fill up her time. There's just so much even a triple threat in training like her can take, after all.

But this all changes when Rachel lives her summer as the pregnant girlfriend of a very devoted male diva, adored daughter of a same-sex couple and the daughter-in-law-to-be of the St. James couple (Claire and Jonathan act like she and Jesse are already engaged, and the young couple finds out they don't exactly care. Secretly, Rachel likes it, and she has the slight suspicion Jesse does too). In between Jesse, her parents, _his _parents and Noah and Quinn, Rachel is so busy she never notices when July turns into August, marking her entrance into the last month of her first trimester.

The only indication of time passing is that one morning, when she dries herself off after her post-morning workout shower, she catches a glance of herself on her bathroom mirror – and stays rooted on her spot, dumbfounded.

Where she had before taut, defined abdominal muscles (all result of her strict eating and working-out regimens, thank you very much), there's a barely visible, look-distracted-and-you'll-miss-it baby bump.

The smile that breaks out on her face is slow and huge. For so long her situation seemed surreal and not really happening. But now… Now that she's swelling with new life, it looks more real. She's actually pregnant. She's going to be a mother in little more than six months. She can't wait for Jesse to notice it. He'll be so excited, she just knows it.

(She knows he'll notice. He seems to be weirdly tuned in when it comes to her pregnant organism. And he notices tiny changes in her that even she misses. She has discussed this with Noah, and he says he can't really explain it to her – because she's the "baby mama and will never fucking get it" – but it has something with him taking care of her and indirectly, their child. "Because, face it, Berry, for us fathers this part is really fucking all about you baby mamas", he has said).

Last night was the first in many weeks that she and Jesse slept apart. They spend every waking moment together, hanging out with Noah and Quinn (with sometimes Brittany and Santana joining in), or with her parents, or with his parents, or by themselves (their favorite out of all four options), and when it comes to sleeping they'll do it wherever they are – either if it is by the St. James property (Claire threw a fit right after learning about the pregnancy and, thus, it was decided – Mr. and Mrs. St. James are done with traveling the world) or the Berry residence.

But the previous night was an exception. Claire and Jonathan and their son were invited to a summer ball at the house of one of Jonathan's associates, and Rachel gracefully bowed out. She knows how those parties work, and she doesn't want to have judgmental people whispering behind her back, pitying her – or, worse, Jesse – for being held back by having a child in their teenage years. So, for the first time in weeks she stayed in with her fathers at home, and Jesse slept alone in his own bed.

(It sucked. She kept waking up because she would twist and turn and not find the reassuring warmth of his body curled around her. She can't help but wonder if it was the same for him).

This train of thought leads her to a whole new set. What will be their living arrangements once their child is born? They can't keep moving back and forth between Lima and Akron – no way her child is going to live like the only child of a divorced couple, sharing his or her time between mommy's and daddy's houses (because, well, she and Jesse are very much together, thank you).

She is so immersed in her thoughts she misses the long, lean body watching her from the doorway. Jesse's night basically was the night from hell to top all nights from hell. First he had to smile and act like the adoring son of devoted parents, then to suck up to his father's associates and to dodge the completely not subtle questions of stuck-up women madly in love with the idea of marrying their stuck-up daughters off to the St. James fortune.

Then, it came time to bed. And…

Well, he's never spending a night at his parents' house if Rachel isn't there with him. No way in fucking hell. He was so worried with her and their baby he only managed a few hours of sleep when close to dawn. Hence, him being with his sunglasses on when he walks in her house (Hiram and Leroy are nowhere to be seen).

She's just out of shower, with her blushing pink boyshort lacy panties and matching bra on, and he's enjoying the show, when his eyes zero in something that wasn't there when he saw her last.

A very, very small bump. Tiny, but there. His baby bump.

His baby. And, somehow, even though they've been dealing with the idea of their first child growing inside of her for weeks now, seeing that small swell on her abdominal area makes everything look much more real. He is going to be a father. She is having his baby – their baby.

"You're showing", he says softly, ignorant of the reverence tinting his velvety voice. She gasps in shock and surprise, twirling around to stare at him as he crosses the space between her bedroom door and the bathroom door, where she's standing. She squeals and hugs him tight, burying her nose in the crook of his neck and inhaling the marine, masculine scent.

"I missed you", she breathes, and he hugs her tight, thankful that he wasn't the only one with a crappy night (even though she _isn't_ supposed to have bad nights, since she's the one the baby is growing inside). "I barely made through the night because I'm so used to have you curled around me. I always woke up thinking you had gotten up to go to the bathroom or the kitchen or something", she adds quietly.

"Me too, babe. It was almost five am when I managed to sleep. The entire night I was busy worrying over you, both of you, praying that my phone wouldn't ring with your fathers giving me bad news about you being hurt in the hospital, or dead in the hospital or something equally horrific, then praying that you'd call me to come home-"

"-but you _were_ home", she pipes in, confused as she stares at him. Her squeaked words make him pause, look down at her and then cradle her face in his warm hands, staring at her like she's the most precious thing in his world (which, you know, she _is_).

"Home is where _you_ are, Rachel. From the moment I lowered that songbook back in April, you're my home. We could be living under the bridge over Hudson River; it'd still be home if I had you and our baby there with me".

She smiles softly, standing in the tip of her toes to press a kiss to his curled lips. Then, she adds quietly, giggling, "That was so, _so _cheesy, St. James".

He laughs and caresses her back. "Hey… It had dramatic impact, okay? I know my girl – you love a good, grand gesture – or declaration, in this case – of love".

Rachel laughs and kisses him again before letting go of him to get dressed. She decides on a light yellow summer dress that had a bit of an empire waist, adhering to her enlarging boobs but loose around the waist. She's not ashamed of being pregnant at fifteen – far from it. Her child was made out of the all-consuming love she feels for her boyfriend – she just wants to protect him or her, and herself, from judgmental stares she knows will be shot her way the moment the rest of the town learn that 'freaky Berry child' is pregnant.

"Jesse… I'm glad you mentioned our suffering with our current sleeping arrangements. I was thinking before you arrived… What are we going to do once our baby is here? We can't keep shuffling back and forth my parents' and your parents' houses. We need some sort of stability". She says once they settle for lunch on their favorite diner.

He sighs and loops his fingers around hers, stroking the soft skin of her palm. "Well… I sure as heck" she smiles softly at him trying to change his language for their baby and her, "I sure as heck don't want any of you around my parents. So… The St. James Manor is out of the picture".

Rachel sighs leaning against his shoulder. "My fathers' house is good for three people, but for two couples plus a baby? It'll feel crowded", she points out sensitively, and he nods. They decide to drop the subject when she broaches a new topic: has he heard that they're planning to do a 'Wicked' movie? He replies excitedly and they sink into new conversation, debating who would be an awesome Elphaba, Galinda, Fiyero (they agree that best friends Lea Michele and Jonathan Groff have chemistry in spades to play the lovers, and he promises he'll show her 'Spring Awakening' some day. He has the illegal download of Michele's and Groff's last performance at home and he'll play it for her).

They're happily discussing duets when the back of Jesse's neck tingles and itches. Scratching it absently, he looks up and freezes. Smirking cockily and strutting towards their table, is Giselle Torres, closely followed by the biggest gossiper of Vocal Adrenaline, Olivia Fisher. "Well, well, well… As I live and breathe, our missing _former _lead, Jesse St. James", Giselle says silkily, Olivia giggling behind her.

Showface firmly in place, Jesse flashes a smirk at Giselle, nodding at Olivia. "Good morning, Giselle. How have you been?"

"Waiting for you to take up on the offer I tried to make right after regionals", the African-American girl says bluntly, and Jesse glares at her for a moment, feeling Rachel gasp and stiffen next to him. The soft noise alerts Giselle, who looks down at Rachel, whose face's hidden by the satiny curtain of black hair. "And with a new play toy, so sweet!" The female lead spits with fake sweetness.

Rachel, who had been shivering with fear since the moment she heard Giselle's ironic tone cutting at her boyfriend's admitted absence of everything Carmel- and Vocal Adrenaline-related, decides she has had enough and looks up, fiery brown eyes meeting Giselle's. She stands up slowly, her own showface fiercely intact. "Good morning, Giselle, who have you been egging lately?" She asks with pretense cheerfulness, and Jesse has to bite the inside of his cheek to curb his laughter.

"You?" Giselle stammers, showface slipping to display her shock, before she shakes it off and smirks. "Well, well, well… If it isn't McKinley's lead. Ops, sorry. _Former_ lead". She says venomously, and Rachel laughs at her.

"Yes, I am. But at least I was a lead. I can't say the same for you, can I?" She fires back, and turns to Jesse. "I'm tired. Can we go home?"

Smiling, he nods and wraps an arm around her, waving soundlessly at the gaping girls. Once the couple is out of the diner, Giselle lets out a roar of anger. _Jesse St. James will be fucking mine!_


	12. 11

**Author's Note: **I am so sorry for the longest delay in updating this. As you know, I've been busy with college, and internship, and (this you don't know, unless your name is either Ellie or Ash) a new relationship. Also, my muse went dark and angsty for a while as Ellie and I worked back and forth on 'and I owe it all to you' (which has been making me so happy, it's pathetic. Or not).

(And, yes, that's a shameless plug right up there. Go check it out if you haven't already!)

However, to make it up to all of you, in this chapter we reveal something very, very important. It's something I have decided since I started writing this and I'm excited that the moment for it finally – _finally!_ – arrived. Hope you enjoy, and don't forget to review!

**Disclaimer: **Not mine. Just having fun. If I owned Glee, Jesse would just be back already!

**Summary: **At 17, Jesse St. James has his life all planned out. But then Rachel calls. And he's forced to concoct a new plan: one that includes Rachel… and his child.

**Fatherhood**

_**Elev**__**en**_

**T**he couple bursts out laughing the minute they are out of Giselle's earshot and view. Jesse hugs his girlfriend tight and kisses her firmly, arms bringing her as closely as possible since they're in public. "That", he breathes against Rachel's soft full lips, "must be the hottest thing I've ever seen since… Well, since this morning, because this", his hand comes to rest lovingly on her barely-there bump, "is very, very hot".

She giggles against his lips and bites it softly. "Who would have thought? Jesse St. James is a very, _very_ possessive man", she says teasingly, and he grins back, squeezing her waist firmly, but affectionately.

"Can you blame me? I have the hottest, most talented girlfriend in all of Ohio", he praises her, looking with a fervor in his eyes that makes her blush and melt at the same time. "Now let's go, I want to spend today with you to make up for my night from hell, last night".

She can't help but tease him _again_ (he just makes it so easy!). "You want to spend only today with me? I'm offended, St. James".

"Babe, I love you, but I'm not saying that cliché, even if it holds true for our situation".

**

* * *

M**onday afternoon finds Rachel and Jesse sitting anxiously at Eloise's office's waiting room. They're there for her monthly check-up (so far things have been progressing as fine as expected), but this month marks the appointment that will change their entire relationship with the baby.

The previous month, Eloise said that when Rachel came back for the appointment they're waiting for, if they wanted to, she would be able to tell the gender of their child (the St. Berry Baby, as Quinn took to calling him or her). And, of course, anxious creature that she is, Rachel decided she wanted to know. "It'll make preparing for the nursery and choosing a name much easier", she told Jesse when she announced her wish to learn the baby's sex.

Jesse had the time in-between the appointments to realize that he wanted to know too. As he watches Rachel fidget nervously with her rhinestone-embellished pink iPod, the former Vocal Adrenaline tries to imagine how their child will look like. If it's a boy, he sure hopes it doesn't inherit his hair. Despite looking adorable in a baby, it's hell to care for as a grownup boy and young man. He imagines a chubby baby who looks like him but has Rachel's shiny dark hair and whose skin is a mix between his pale pristine and her naturally tanned olive. The baby in his mind turns then into a young boy, tall and lean, his personality a combination of Jesse's own drive and ambition and Rachel's generosity. A son to carry on the St. James name, to cheer on sports, to protect the sister he and Rachel will surely give him after UCLA (him) and Juilliard (her) and Broadway stardom (both), to talk about girls once he hits the verge of manhood. Definitely not a mini-him since he was a soulless automaton until meeting Rachel.

_He'll surely be a ladies' man_, Jesse considers, grinning to himself as he remembered his early teenage years, bed-hopping in between wins on competitions, parties and rehearsals. But then his eyes come to rest on Rachel, who's softly humming to herself, and his face softens. _Until_, Jesse adds, _he finds the right girl, that is_.

But then the boy in his mind dissolves into a little girl. A beautiful, chubby baby girl, with his curls (they look adorable on a girl, full and heavy, gracing an angelic face), Rachel's beauty and _his _nose (he knows she wants the child, boy or girl, to have his non-Jewish nose). A daughter. A mini-Rachel, with his stormy blue-grey eyes and nose, but in all other aspects all Rachel (including the diva personality, but the uncertainty of herself will definitely not carry on their daughter. After all, New York City is very embracing to all kinds of people, and the St. James princess will rule it with an iron fist, but a loving heart).

He considers he should have knocked up Rachel with twins so they could have a boy _and _a girl

"St. James?" The old, motherly nurse says, smiling softly at the young couple, who startles at the sound of his last name being called out. "Ms. Berry, Dr. Powell is ready for you".

"Thank you", Rachel says politely, rising from her seat and lacing her fingers with Jesse's. Smiling excitedly up at him, she tugs at his hand, and he can't help the shiver of anticipation as they make the walk to Eloise's room.

**

* * *

E**loise Powell smiles big and bright as Rachel and Jesse walk in her room. She rises from her seat behind her desk and meets the couple halfway, embracing both of them warmly. "Jesse, Rachel, so good to see you". She says as she hugs Rachel, feeling something against her stomach, and her eyebrows shoot up, smiling at her young patient. "Well, well, well, Ms. Berry, looks like someone is showing!" She says with a small laugh, and Rachel nods fiercely.

"Yes, he or she appeared out of nowhere over Friday night to Saturday morning", the brunette says cheerfully, and Eloise laughs. Rachel is for sure different of her other teenage pregnant patients. Those girls are usually indifferent of their condition, sometimes regretful, sometimes angry. To see someone so excited about her child, despite being young, is a relief to Eloise. "I was very excited when I noticed it. And Jesse here was very possessive", the brunette teases her boyfriend, who grins back.

"Well, good to both of you. Now, let's check you out before moving on to find out whether your baby is a he or a she, shall we?" Eloise gestures to the chair and moves back to her own seat. After some questions about Rachel's morning sickness (almost gone, thankfully), sleeping and eating habits and weight gain (only four pounds so far), Eloise smiles.

"Well, it seems everything is, as usual, progressing as expected when it comes to you, Rachel. And I'm not that evil so let's find out that baby's sex, okay?" She then accompanies the young couple to the adjoining room. "Rachel, you know what to do", she tells the brunette, who smiles and nods walking to the attached bathroom.

Eloise takes the time alone with Jesse to talk with him. "So… You and Rachel told Aunt Claire and Uncle Jonathan, I hear". In fact, she more than heard. She had to deal with a shocked mother who deemed Rachel a 'little gold-digger that no doubt is lying to Jesse about the true paternity of her baby', and a father who was actually excited to meet his grandnephew.

Jesse smiles knowingly and nods at his cousin. "Yes… I guess Aunt Camille wasn't pleased with the news, uh?" Eloise rolls her eyes at this and he laughs. "Surprisingly, mother knew Rachel's daddy. They were college best friends, them and the mother of one of Rachel's friends. Mother and Mr. and Mr. Berry were actually very understanding – Hiram Berry more than Leroy – that's Rachel's fathers' names – Leroy said I could be sued for seducing a minor since Rachel's under consent age – but afterwards he was actually very understanding".

"I'm guessing Uncle Jonathan wasn't so understanding", Eloise says, wisely. Jesse laughs and then nods.

"Yeah, father not so much – at first, at least. He suggested Rachel and I got immediately married so that his first grandchild wouldn't be born out of wedlock – after that was when Leroy Berry said I could be indicted for having sex with Rach. But after mother took charge of it and I said Rachel and I weren't get married _right now_ – because that's definitely in our future – he begrudgingly jumped in the bandwagon".

"Now he's excited just like everyone else, and acts like Jess and I are already engaged – just like Mrs. St. James. Dad and Daddy aren't so quick to marry me off, but I think they won't say no when Jesse asks them for my hand in marriage", Rachel adds as she returns, and Eloise laughs. Typical rich family, it doesn't even surprise her. Rachel settles in the medical bed and shivers as Eloise applies cold transparent gel on her slightly swollen stomach.

Jesse sits next to Rachel, their fingers entwined with each other, an anxious smile in both of their faces. She groans a little when Eloise presses the detector against her skin, but turns excited eyes to the monitor, the black and white light reflecting on her beautiful face. Eloise examines the image for a moment and then smiles, better yet, she grins – a big, happy grin.

"Everything is progressing quite nicely with this baby too. She's been growing just like expected considering you're now eleven weeks, Rachel-"

"Wait a minute", Rachel interrupts and Eloise chuckles. Of course she'd be the first to notice. "Sorry to interrupt you, Eloise, but… Did you just say _she_?"

Jesse gasps in open surprise as he looks away from the monitor, eyes zeroing in Eloise's smiling face as she nods. "That's right, Rach. Congratulations, Jesse, Rachel, you're having a little girl".


	13. 12

**Author's Note: **I apologize for my lateness about updating this, but my life is going crazy with school, family, boyfriend (actually, fiancé now *grinning*) and other stories. I laughed at maxie452's review for _To Be a Father_. She asked me why all stories end the chapter when Rachel learns the gender of her child. It's funny, I never actually paid any attention to that – maybe it's to keep the readers coming back? I don't know.

A short update to make my guys happy. Hope you enjoy it!

**Disclaimer: **Not mine. Just having fun. If I owned Glee, Jesse would never have left.

**Summary: **At 17, Jesse St. James has his life all planned out. But then Rachel calls. And he's forced to concoct a new plan: one that includes Rachel… and his child.

**Fatherhood**

_**Twelve**_

**T**he minute the words leave Eloise's lips, Rachel has two different reactions. First, her eyes tear up with joy – she's having a _daughter_! – then, dread fills her heart as she remembers the little girl she met not too long ago, the little girl she watched grow inside her mother's womb, the little girl her own mother chose to replace her with. She feels a squeeze on her hand, and she looks up to meet Jesse's eyes with her own, and the memory of the dark-haired, dark-eyed older version of herself vanishes at the pure ecstasy on her boyfriend's crystalline silver pools.

He's having a little girl. A daughter. The beautiful child he imagined when he tried to envision how his firstborn with the young woman laying on the cot next to him would look like. Jesse smiles as a tear rolls down his cheek, and when his eyes connect with Rachel's, he sees whatever dark thought was going through her mind be replaced by the sheer happiness of learning the gender of their child.

"A little girl", he whispers at her, and she nods, grinning, tear-stricken face lit up with joy. "I love you", he says as he leans down and presses his lips against hers, feeling her lips curl up in a small smile in the kiss.

Eloise, meanwhile, busies herself checking the little girl's vitals, smiling slightly at the unbridled happiness of the young couple. Pressing a few buttons on the sonogram machine, she chuckles when Jesse and Rachel break apart, startled by the sound of the connected printer humming to life. "Okay, Rachel, you can go get cleaned", she instructs and Rachel nods, taking the offered paper tissue to wipe her slightly rounded stomach clean of the transparent gel. With a quick press of her lips against Jesse's, Rachel vanishes inside the nearest restroom, and Eloise picks on the troubled glimmer inside Jesse's eyes. "Jess, everything alright with you?" She asks, concerned, and her cousin sighs deeply.

"Rachel was worried with something just now", he says quietly, following Eloise back to her office. "And, if I'm not mistaken, I think it was her mother".

Eloise frowns, confused. "I thought she has two gay dads?"

"She does", the former Vocal Adrenaline lead settles on one of the chairs across Eloise's desk, running his fingers into his tousled black locks. "But she met her mother a few weeks ago. Rachel's mother is Shelby Corcoran – my Vocal Adrenaline coach, you remember her?" Eloise nods, glancing quickly at the adjoining door that leads to the restroom where Rachel's currently locked in. "Well, after she learned from Rachel's now former glee coach that we were dating, Shelby approached me. She told me the girl who had bewitched me in sectionals was Rachel Berry, her daughter, and she wanted me to befriend her and stimulate Rachel into searching for her".

"And?"

"Well… I did. I carried on with my relationship with Rachel and when she told me her dream was to meet her mother, I snuck into one of her baby memorabilia's boxes a tape Shelby had given me when assigning me my task. By then, believe me, I was deeply and irrevocably in love with Rachel, but…"

"But it had to be done", Eloise whispers, knowing how, deep down, Jesse isn't one to not go against what he thinks is right.

"Yes", Jesse nods. "Rachel listened the tape and a week after, she snuck into Carmel's auditorium, where we were rehearsing our Lady Gaga number – she thankfully didn't see me –, and she heard Shelby singing. She recognized the voice right away – isn't Rachel taking too long there? – and they talked". Jesse pauses, eyes darkening and fists clenching. "Shelby then decided Rachel didn't need her and told Rachel they should be thankful for each other from afar", he quotes perfectly, the memory of that night, the anger he felt, burning red hot inside him.

Eloise gasps. "Holy shit", she mumbles, shock coloring her face.

Jesse laughs bitterly. "That's not even the fucking end of it, Ellie. Shelby then went on to adopt the newborn baby of Rachel's teammate. A girl, by the way, that made her high school mission to turn Rachel's life hell".

"Fuck".

"That's an understatement", Jesse's fingers run again into his hair. "I know Rachel's freaking out thinking she can't be a mom, since she has no role model to look up to. She never said anything, but I just know it".

"That's bullshit", Eloise says as she leafs through Rachel's sonogram photos, Jesse chuckling darkly as he nods his assent. But they allow the subject to die as the lock from the closed door clicks open and Rachel walks out, red-rimmed eyes and cheeks slightly sticky from tears but otherwise unruffled. Jesse and Eloise exchange a meaningful glance but neither of them comments neither the long time she took inside the bathroom, nor on the visible signs of her recent tears. She gives Jesse a brilliant smile and sits down next to him, lacing her fingers with his.

"So, everything fine with me and my daughter?" Rachel asks, and Eloise smiles and nods.

"Everything's perfectly fine". The physician replies, and the pregnant girl smiles. "See you guys next month".

* * *

**R**achel and Jesse leave Eloise's office with a big grin on their faces, talking excitedly about their baby girl – a _daughter_! They're still coming to terms with that – when Rachel's phone rings. _Sweet Caroline_. She laughs and Jesse frowns slightly. "It's Noah", she answers to the unspoken question, and he chuckles and nods. "Good morning, Noah, how are you this fine morning?"

On the other side of the line, Puck chuckles. "Morning to you too, Berry. How are you and St. Baby?" He asks, and Rachel laughs, a carefree, joyous sound that puts a smile on Jesse's face. He wraps an arm around her waist, caressing her slightly rounder baby bump – a baby _girl_ bump! He can't get over that, not quite yet – as he presses a kiss to her cheek.

"Hey, Puckerman!" He calls, and Rachel giggles and Puckerman chuckles.

"St. Baby? Who came up with that?" She asks Puck as her arm comes to rest around Jesse's waist.

"Who do you think? Brittany. She says your couple name with St. James is St. Berry, so it's fitting that you guys' baby name is St. Baby – at least until you guys find out what it is and pick a name", he explains, and Rachel laughs, nodding.

"Well, as it turns out, you have amazing timing, Noah. Jesse and I just came from my OB/GYN and we just found out what we're having".

"You did?" He asks, anxiously. "What is it?"

She hesitates, mind flashing to the day in the hospital, just over three months ago, where Noah was forced to give away his daughter (to her mother), and she wonders if it's the right moment to tell Noah that she gets to have – and _keep_ – her own baby girl. She throws Jesse a panicked look, and he sighs and takes her phone from her hand.

"Hey, Puckerman, it's me. Why don't you round up the guys and crash down over the Berry home later? Yeah, you know – the usual crowd: you and Quinn, Brit, Satan, Mike, Matt…" He silences, surprise coloring his face. "Uh… Sure, if they want to. They won't attack Rach, right?" Rachel frowns at this and he holds up a hand to her, still talking to Puck. "Uhuh. Okay then. Come by, say, seven? Seven thirty. Bring movies. We'll make it a pizza-plus-movie night". He chuckles. "Cool, man. Later".

"Who won't attack me?" She asks as soon as he hangs up. "And, good Lord, how are we going to tell Noah and Quinn that we're having a _daughter_? They just gave up their own, and you remember the last time we discussed the baby with the guys? They freaked. Noah fell apart and so did Quinn. I can't begin to fathom how they'll react to the news that we get to have and keep _our _baby girl".

"Artie and Tina are over the Puckerman household and I guess they asked Puck if they could tag along for our pizza-plus-movie night. That's what he asked and since they were pretty vocal on how of a slut you are for being back with me and pregnant with my _daughter-_"

"You won't stop saying that anytime soon, will you?" She says, laughing, and he grins.

"It's awesome that you know me so well", he says and carries on, "I had to make sure they weren't going to attack you verbally the minute they caught sight of you".

She nods slowly, understandingly, as she laces her fingers together with his and they start the journey towards the parking lot where he left his car. "You weren't so protective of me before", she muses aloud, and he snorts.

"You're kidding, right? _You_ didn't see me being protective of you. Sure, when you needed my protection the most I bailed, but…" He sighs. "Look, Rach, what we had before was a mess. I was attracted to your talent and you wanted to get back at Finn. You triple-casted me and I got back at you by egging you. We started and ended all wrong. But somewhere along that disorganized road, we started something beautiful". His hand moved slightly over her small bump. "And that first phase of our lives was hectic but it gave us our daughter. It gave us each other. I like to think we're in this for all the right reasons. Don't you?"

Her eyes are swimming with tears by the time he's done with his little speech and she sniffles, nodding, a smile curving her lips as her hand curls around the back of his neck and forces his face down against hers, their mouths connecting in a passionate kiss. They stay wrapped in their warm embrace when she pulls out, panting, and breathlessly states, "We're in this for the _best _reasons, Mr. St. James. You bet your ass".

He laughs and tugs her towards the car.


	14. 13

**Author's Note: **I apologize so much for the long absence of updates. I had to format my laptop, and my muse simply took a vacation from giving me chapters to this story. She was obsessed with a massive one-shot I've been busy writing, and several smaller stories. But the moment _I___went on vacation, she gave me part of it. Then I came home, graduated and got busy studying for the bar exam. But she still kept feeding me stuff. So I hope you guys enjoy this.

**Disclaimer: **Baby Girl St. James belongs to me. Everything else belongs to Ryan Murphy who should be arrested for the crime of sucking and being stupid.

**Fatherhood**

_Thirteen_

**W**hen Puck arrives at the Berry residence and walks through the door into the house, fingers entwined with Quinn's (they are not together, but sometimes the need of each other's closeness to get through the day hits – so they hug, they hold hands, they kiss each other's cheek chastely…), he feels something is… **off**. He finds Rachel on the living room, antsy, fluttering around like a hummingbird on crack, with Jesse watching over her, concern clear as day in his eyes.

"Hey, guys. What's up?" He asks as he settles down on the couch, Quinn relaxing into the seat next to him and curling around his body. Rachel's wearing a flowing black skirt paired with a tight white tank top that adheres and shows off the small curve of her stomach, and Puck notices how Quinn's pointedly avoiding to look at Rachel and her proudly expanding belly, her hand hovering unconsciously over her own, now-empty womb. Sometimes, he knows, it hurts Quinn to be near Rachel, whose pregnancy, accepted, exciting, even wanted, was everything Quinn's own gestation was not.

"You guys had a check-up today, right?" The former head Cheerio asks quietly, her hand clutching desperately at Puck's, both hands hidden in between their thighs. Rachel nods as Jesse, rolling his eyes, stands up, takes her hand and, sitting down, tugs at it so she sits on his lap, his arm curled around her waist and his hand lazily tracing circles over the slight swell of her bump, in a way that Puck remembers, back from that week when they were Puckleberry (what? It stuck, okay?), comforts her.

When the expectant pair nods but keeps silent, Puck grows nervous. Rachel is a talker and, since she got pregnant, that tendency just increased. She loves to discuss baby. It's not normal for her to be so quiet. So, he focuses on her, the weaker link of the united front, the one he knows since they were in diapers. "Rach? Everything okay with your little one?"

Startling, Rachel nods again; taking a deep breath, she rests her hand next to Jesse's over her subtly swollen stomach and leans her cheek against his curls. A soft, loving look settles on her face, her skin glowing beautifully. She looks so breathtakingly beautiful, that it blows Puck away. While carrying Beth, Quinn never looked this stunning, this peaceful, this comfortable with the changes in her body, alterations brought by the baby growing inside her. Rachel's serene beauty causes Puck to burn, for a moment, with jealousy. _Jesse is one lucky son of a bitch_, he thinks.

"Yes. Everything is just fine with both the baby and I. Dr. Powell – Eloise – she said we're doing as well as expected at this point of my pregnancy", Rachel replies with a small smile, and Puck relaxes visibly, but Jesse notices how deliberately Rachel is avoiding any and all mentions to the baby's gender, something he can understand, being aware of her quite close friendship with Puckerman.

"Any word on what you're going to have?" Quinn asks quietly, her eyes guarded and anywhere but at Rachel. Within Puck's hold, her hand trembles and shakes, a sure sign of her anxiety. With Rachel all but wrapped up in his arms, Jesse is the only one who notices how tense and stiff she is when she nods slowly in response to Quinn's question.

When Rachel falls silent again, Puck rolls his eyes. "So? What's it?" He asks, a hint of irritation in his voice. Something **is **wrong, he can feel it. But what? Rachel has said everything is fine with her and the baby, and she wouldn't lie about that – even though she's a great actress, she's the lousiest liar he ever met.

"I can't do this", Rachel blurts out, stands up and storms out to her bedroom, in front of the shocked and confused eyes of their friends. Quinn and Puck stare questioningly at Jesse, who sighs and then shrugs at them.

"We've been having some crazy days. Her mother called the other day, so it's been pretty emotional for her, for us. I'm sure you understand. Give her a moment or two to get herself back together and she'll come around", he explains, apologetically, and the two teens in front of him nod remembering their own experience with pregnancy hormones. The silence that reigns over them is suddenly broken by the sound of a car approaching, and then the ring of a doorbell shortly after. "I'll get it", Jesse stands up and marches to the front door.

Tina and Artie are standing up on the porch, discomfort in their faces. But Jesse smiles politely at them as he steps aside to let the mismatched pair walk – roll, in Artie's case – in the hall. "Tina, Artie, good to see you. We're all in the living room – well, except for Rachel, but I'll go fetch her in a minute. She'll be pleased to see you guys". He nods at the young couple, who smiles uneasily back, going to the living room. Jesse then goes to the stairs, listening to the muffled conversations between the four teenagers in the living room for a moment before going up.

"Rach?" He asks quietly, knocking at her bedroom door once before pushing it open. He finds his girlfriend curled up on her bed, her arms wrapped around her knees and her forehead pressed against them, visible shivers running through her body. Sighing, he walks up to her, sits down on the bed and wraps his arms around her, making shushing noises. "It'll be alright, babe".

"We can't tell them, Jess!" She squeaks out desperately. "I mean, Quinn can barely look at me when she sees my bump out, she always looks so pained and hurt! And Noah!"

"Rachel, we have to. We know what we're having and they'll figure out once we start buying stuff for her. I know you don't want to hurt both Puck and Quinn, but maybe…" Something clicks inside his mind and he smiles. "Why don't we invite them to be godparents for our daughter?"

She looks up sharply, eyes narrowing. "I hope you mean we're asking them to be our daughter's **honorary** godparents", she states crossly, and sighs when he looks at her confused. "Jess, I'm Jewish. Therefore, our daughter will be Jewish. We don't have a baptism per se, at least not until she's 12 and she has her bat mitzvah, and even that isn't a baptism, our little girl will just be confirming if she wants to grow up being a Jew".

"Oh", breathes Jesse, nodding after a moment. "Okay. But your religion accepts honorary godparents, right?"

Rachel nods, wiping at her tear-tracked cheeks. "It does". She looks hesitantly at him, softly worrying her lower lip. "It bothers me how much my pregnancy seems to upset Quinn. Sometimes I just wanna hide away until I pop this baby out".

"We have to go back down there", Jesse says softly, his long, nimble fingers massaging her tense shoulder under the thin strap of her top. Rachel glares at him, sliding away from his touch as she stares at him disbelievingly. "Tina and Artie just got here, I'm sure they want to talk to you", he explains to her incredulous face.

"Have you heard anything I just said?" Rachel hisses furiously. "I **can't **go back there, I can't face Quinn and her pain! It hurts me!" Her eyes are sparkling with anger, chest heaving, breasts pressing against the tight fabric of her top, cheeks rosy with feeling. Holy fuck, she never looked better.

"We **have** to, Rach. Slide your impressive show face on and face the music. We don't have to tell her now, but I'm sure we can tell Puck. He has been dealing with it best. Quinn just stuck her head into the sand throughout her time expecting, and she isn't straying from that now that she gave birth. But even she will come around once she stops feeling sorry for herself", he comforts her, pressing a sweet kiss to her lips. "If anyone should be blamed for us having a daughter, then it's me. I'm the one who gave her that special X chromosome that will make her the St. James princess, after all", Jesse adds cockily as he winks to his girlfriend, making her laugh softly.

"We **have** to choose a name", she giggles, looking at her reflection on the mirror. Groaning, she stands up and paddles over to her lamp-surrounded vanity, fingers running through her dark locks. "God, I look like a mess", she mutters, and Jesse chuckles. They stay in silence as Rachel works in her reddened eyes and messy hair, Jesse relaxedly watching her, but their cozy moment is broken by a quick knock on the door.

"Berry? St. James? Please don't be fucking in there while we're all in a damn awkward silence down there", Puck's annoyed but mischievous voice filters in, muffled by the closed door, and Rachel yelps in surprise.

"Noah!" She screeches, her face flaming red. She marches towards the closed door, pulls it open and glares at him. "I was busy having a fit over… something", she stumbles for a moment but then carries on. "Jesse was graceful enough to let me have my moment and I was just fixing myself to go back downstairs". Exchanging a glance over her shoulder with her boyfriend, Rachel hesitates for just a moment before turning to face Puck again. "But I'm glad you came up, Noah. I'd like to have a word with you, please".

Looking curiously at his longtime friend – and onetime girlfriend – Puck nods. Jesse leaves the room after a long glance at Rachel, closing the door softly behind them and leaving Rachel and Puck alone in her yellow, girly bedroom. She takes a deep breath, seats at her bed and pats the spot next to her on the mattress. "Noah, come sit down with me for a moment", she invites, eyes shining with nervousness.

Frowning, Puck obeys, smirking as he remembers just how close to Berry's mattress he got last year when they tried dating. "Okay, Berry. Here is the Puckerone. What do you wanna?"

"I'm having a daughter", she blurts out, clapping a hand over her lips and turning watery eyes at him when she notices him stiffening next to her. Impulsively, she cups his cheek with her hand and turns his face to hers. "I know you couldn't raise and love the little girl Quinn recently gave birth to. I would love if my fellow good looking Jew helped me raise her properly. You know Jesse will never fully understand what it means to be a Jew", she says, laughing tearfully as she remembers the day he told her that, sitting on the same bed they are sitting now. _Gosh, it seems like a lifetime ago_, she realizes, surprised. Puck chuckles and fixes her with a teary stare.

"St. James is such a lucky son of a bitch, do you know that?" He says quietly, his fingers curling gently over her soft cheek, caressing her high cheekbone. There's this sheen of tears in his eyes that hurts her like a needle in her heart, but, as he presses his lips sweetly against her other cheek, he whispers solemnly, "I would love to".


	15. 14

**Author's Note: **For this to work (part of it, at least), consider that Claire and Hiram were college friends and Jesse and Rachel knew each other when they were young. Jesse remains, in my canon, an only child.

**Fatherhood**

_Fourteen_

**A**ugust is halfway through when Jonathan and Claire St. James decide to invite their son, and his pregnant girlfriend, over for a little talk. Jesse's supposed to start his freshman year in UCLA in less than a month, but no decisions concerning his academic future have been made, and this, of course, worried his parents. Surely they understand their son's desire to be near his girlfriend and their unborn daughter, but still, Jesse has to figure out what he wants to do with his life now that he has graduated from high school.

Jesse and Rachel arrive shortly after the breakfast, and Claire immediately notices the changes in the girl she knows with a deep certainty will be her daughter-in-law. Underneath the blush pink summer dress, Rachel's swollen stomach pokes out a little, and she's literally glowing, her small hand encased within Jesse's large one. She's smiling a tad nervously, making Claire's heart warm with the realization that she still isn't comfortable enough with Jesse's family's obvious wealth. It's so refreshing to see that, how shocked and slightly perplexed Rachel is by the knowledge that Jesse's all but set for life if he wants to. Jesse has been a serial dater since he hit puberty, and his previous conquests have all been girls who were after the one thing Rachel obviously has no interest in.

"Mother", Jesse greets her with a smile, hugging her quickly before stepping out of her arms and back to Rachel's side. The young brunette smiles politely and nods slightly.

"Good morning, Mrs. St. James".

Claire laughs a bit and hugs Rachel. "Good morning, Rachel. And I believe I've told you to call me Claire", she scolds lightly as she walks the young pair to the winter garden, where Sophie, the maid who has helped take care of Jesse since he was an infant (while Claire struggled with a painful bout of postpartum depression), has left a jar of orange juice and some cookies for them to nibble at. "Jonathan is going to join us very soon. He's just wrapping up some issues concerning matters of his office", Claire rolls her eyes and sighs a little, serving juice to their young guests.

Jesse snorts and rolls his eyes, settling down on the pristine white couch of his childhood. For the last few weeks since they received news of their child's gender, he has refused to come back to his parents' home for the nights, unwilling to spend them away from his girlfriend and their unborn daughter. He wasn't surprised when his mother called the previous evening, demanding to see both him and Rachel and telling him his father wanted to talk to him about his plans.

It hasn't come as a surprise to him that his parents want to know what he's going to do now. Ever since he was a young, driven 7-year-old, Jesse knew what he wanted for his life. He had his entire life plan outlined in front of him: Carmel, Vocal Adrenaline lead, a four-year-consecutive win on the National Show Choir Circuit and then UCLA.

Falling in love and having a family weren't supposed to come up. At least, not so **soon**.

But he never expected meeting Rachel Berry.

And Rachel Berry – and the daughter she now has in her stomach – threw his carefully worked plan for a loop.

Like Rachel, Jesse feels more comfortable knowing what his next steps will be. And once Rachel called and told him she was with child – with **their** child – he knew he would have to scrap his entire plan and work out a new one.

The University of California, Los Angeles, of course, isn't an option anymore. No way will he move to the other side of the country leaving Rachel alone to go through every step of the sweet wait for their child, and then raising her also alone. Rachel still has two years of school to go, and she'll need all the help she could get so she can manage care for the baby and school. And he wants to be part of her life, part of their lives. He loves Rachel and their yet-to-be-named daughter more than anything in the entire world, even more than performing, surprisingly.

Once Rachel's done with school – and their daughter will be more than a year old by then – then the three of them can move to wherever she'll be going for college. New York, Los Angeles, Chicago… It doesn't matter. His parents are rich enough to support the three of them and he'll use their money. Surely they'll approve of that.

While the two women chat lightly, in waiting for Jonathan to join them (he thinks this conversation can't be had without his father's presence), Jesse feels his phone vibrating against his thigh. Frowning slightly, he pulls it out of his pocket, a puzzled frown deepening the scowl in his forehead as he checks the name in the small screen. "Weird", he comments quietly, the name of Vocal Adrenaline's current coach flashing in his caller ID.

"What's it, dear?" The voice of his mother cuts through his thoughts and he startles, blinking at her owlishly for a moment before allowing a polite smile to curve his lips.

"Nothing", he answers quickly, before turning to Rachel. "I have to take this call, okay? I'll explain everything for you later". He stands up and presses a quick, sweet kiss to her lips, crossing the room to stand in the furthest corner of the room. "Jesse St. James", he says as he picked up the call.

"St. James, it's Dustin Goolsby. I have an offer to make to you…"

* * *

**F**ifteen minutes later, Claire St. James is giving her best to placate an obviously anxious Rachel Berry, who is answering to her questions and keeping conversation up as politely as possible, but not exactly with a great deal of attention. Rachel's eyes keep wandering to where Jesse stands, underneath the shade of a nearby tree, pacing back and forth with his phone pressed against his ear. Allowing conversation to fall into a lull, Claire takes the time to examine the young girl her son has chosen to love.

Rachel was a beautiful child, if Claire recalled well. Polite, mild-mannered, sweet and bubbly, she clicked with Jesse right away, the two isolated children brought together because of their shared love for all-things Broadway. Jesse was an only child, as was Rachel, but not because Claire and Jonathan wanted to have only one son – in fact, before Claire's traumatic ordeal after giving birth to Jesse, she and her husband used to talk about how they would love to have a son and a daughter, Jesse Jonathan and Annabelle Claire.

But then Claire got pregnant a few months after their wedding, giving birth to a healthy little boy… and falling into a deep case of postpartum depression that left her emotionally crippled and incapable of caring for her son for the best part of two years.

The ordeal left Claire absolute terrified, and she tearfully refused to go through it again. Not even reassurances from her doctor that it wasn't likely a second pregnancy would bring a second bout of PPD managed to change her mind, and, in order to restore Claire back to health, Jonathan shelved his dreams of another child and began taking his wife and young son with him when he left the country on business trips.

Once it became impossible for Jesse to remain being home-schooled, Claire and Jonathan decided to begin leaving him under her older brother Samuel's care. Samuel back then was newlywed to Vivienne, who was as child-crazy as possible to be. It hurt Claire to leave her beautiful son behind, but Jonathan's business enterprises kept him from settling down in one place, and she knew of his philandering nature – if she left him to care for their son, he would find a lover within days, and God only knew what kind of woman Jonathan would find himself involved with.

Being a smart kid, Jesse noticed from a young age that there was no love between his parents. Yes, Claire was in love with Jonathan when they married, but, as the years passed, that feeling vanished. They were used to each other now, plus a divorce would be harmful to their reputation and Jonathan's fortune, for he would have to give half of it to Claire as part of the settlement. This meant their son had grown up as a frank skeptic in love, becoming a serial dater as soon as he hit puberty and his incredible gorgeousness caught the eyes of girls. He dated and slept around freely, always being careful with his health.

When Claire heard her son had gotten a girl pregnant, hope sparked in her heart that he had, at long last, found someone to fall in love with, even if he was too young to be a father.

Then she began worrying if the girl had gotten pregnant from her beautiful, talented and ultimate-trust-fund-baby son for the status of being the girlfriend of the heir for the St. James' fortune, like so many before her had tried. So, once she met Rachel, she was honestly relieved. And now, seeing how uncomfortable and anxious Rachel is away from Jesse, Claire can't help but think that it's best for her son, the girl in front of her and the baby said girl carries in her belly if Jesse remains in Ohio.

"Relax", Claire says with a small chuckle, laughing as Rachel blushes to her hairline. Rachel's eyes wander nervously to where Jesse, face expressionless, is still immersed in his conversation. "I'm sure he'll be back soon", she says comfortingly, and Rachel smiles meekly in response, picking up her glass and taking a small sip from the cool juice.

"Sorry I'm late", Jonathan's voice interrupts the lull in the conversation, and the two women startle, Rachel standing up hurriedly to greet Jesse's father with a polite smile, hand held out for him to shake. Jonathan smiles warmly at her in response, his attentive eyes charting the small changes in the mother of his granddaughter. "Rachel. It's great to see you. You've grown".

Rachel blushes shyly and places her hand on the small curve of her stomach. At that moment, Jesse appears out of thin air next to him, a slight stiffness in his posture as he greets his father.

"Father".

"Jesse. I was just telling Rachel she's starting to show", Jonathan explains as he greets Claire with a light kiss on her cheek. "Please let's sit. Jesse, I'm sure you know why we have asked you and Rachel to come meet me and your mother today", he addresses his son as Jesse and Rachel sit in a couch, and Jonathan settles down next to Claire in another couch.

"Yes, I know", Jesse replies, a relaxed twang in his beautiful voice. His fingers caress the swell of Rachel's shoulder, and he presses a sweet kiss to her temple. "I'm not going to California", he states, his voice leaving no space open for discussion. "In fact, I just got a job offer that I'm sorely tempted to accept, of course, after talking to you, babe", he addresses Rachel now, and she looks curiously up at him.

Claire's nodding. "I expected such a decision", she tells Jonathan, who nods as well.

"Which job offer is that?" Jonathan asks, and Jesse gives a quick glance at Rachel, hesitating for a moment before sighing and replying.

"Assistant coach to Vocal Adrenaline". Rachel stiffens under his arm, eyes widening. Jesse senses the change in her posture and ignores his parents, hurrying to reassure Rachel. "Babe, if you don't want me to accept it, I won't. It's just that Goolsby – that's the new VA coach's name – has no experience leading a winning team like VA, and he knows I'm still in Ohio, so he wants my help".

Rachel's silent for a moment, and Jonathan and Claire are surprised at the anxiety in Jesse's demeanor (it's the first time they see their always-cool-and-collected son so rattled), Claire's jaw dropping when Jesse relaxes as Rachel sighs and snuggles against the curve of Jesse's body. "That's okay, baby. You deserve it. And now people can't accuse me of being with the enemy, since..." There's a small hitch in Rachel's voice, and Jesse squeezes her lovingly, knowing how her decision of leaving her choir still hurts her, "... since I'm not a part of New Directions anymore".

"So you have a job", Jonathan cuts in, his voice all businessman-like, nodding. "That's good. What about where you two are going to live once the baby arrives?"

"We haven't made a decision about that so far", Rachel pipes in, staring uncertainly at Jesse. "I'm just three months into my pregnancy, there's time for some decisions to be made, isn't there?"

"Yes", Jesse and Claire reply in unison, although Jonathan was clearly about to reply negatively. Claire shoots a nasty glare at her husband, but smiles kindly at the young girl.

"You still have at least seven months to make all the important decisions about the baby. We only called you here because the decisions concerning Jesse's future now involve you too, since you're a couple", she explains, and Rachel nods in understanding, smiling slightly at the older woman. "However, you have to decide quickly where you're going to live, because we have so much to prepare for. This child needs a stable environment before she arrives, and that means a nursery in a house where you two are settled in and used to live". She smiles a little bit. "Plus, you two can't keep shuffling back and forth".

Rachel giggles and Jesse chuckles. "I agree that we need to find a house to make a home out for ourselves. I have trouble falling and staying asleep while away from Rachel, and the same happens to her".

"I'm not transferring to McKinley", Rachel states at once, and Jesse sighs, resigned.

"I know, sweetheart. You'd make such a great addition to Vocal Adrenaline, though".

Rachel scoffs. "I think the Vocal Adrenaline members wouldn't be so thrilled if I joined", she says coolly, and Jesse sighs but doesn't reply. "You know I'm right, Jess", she insists, and he kisses the crown of her head.

Jonathan's quiet, watching the teenagers' conversation. Jumping at the lull in the talk, he suggests, "If Rachel doesn't want to leave McKinley, she needs to stay within the district. And you need to stay close enough that you can work in Carmel and still live near Rachel".

Jesse frowns. "What are you suggesting, father?"

Jonathan smiles slightly. "You know we have that small house on the borderline of Lima and Akron. It's about an hour away from Carmel and even less from McKinley. It's rented now, but the tenant's lease is coming to an end in a matter of weeks – that's what I was checking out before coming to join you – so we can have some work done on it before you guys can move in, but it can be done before Rachel's too far into her pregnancy, giving you two time to make it a home. Of course, you'll need to discuss it with Hiram and Leroy, Rachel, but I think it's the best solution for all of us for the time you two will stay in Ohio".

Rachel nods. Her cellphone rings and she checks the caller ID quickly, glancing apologetically at the older couple. "It's Noah", she tells Jesse, and he nods, before she turns to Jonathan and Claire. "I'm sorry, but we have set up this get-together with a few friends before you called and invited us over, and-"

"We understand, honey", Claire interrupts with a gentle smile. "Go ahead. We'll call you once the house is empty and we start renovating it. I'll make sure everything's up to your tastes".

Jesse smiles at his mother and stands up, holding his hand out to Rachel, who takes it and stands up, entwining her fingers with Jesse's. They say farewell to the St. James couple and leave the estate, both visibly more relaxed than they were when they arrived.

"He loves her", Jonathan comments quietly as he watches the cozy way Jesse holds Rachel as they walk away.

"Yes", Claire's smiling radiantly. "Yes, he does".

* * *

**S**helby's sitting at the food court of the mall, picking at her meal while at the same time trying to juggle bottle-feeding a visibly fussy Beth, when a tinkling laughter cuts through the quite loud noise of the room, a sound familiar, that has the hair on the back of Shelby's neck prickle up in recognition.

She knows that laugh quite too well, even if she heard it not so frequently.

It's the laugh of her (older) daughter.

The former Vocal Adrenaline's coach looks around eagerly, anxious to lay eyes on Rachel. She hasn't seen her baby in quite some time – since that fateful day during Regionals, where Rachel invited (pleaded with) her to come coach New Directions – and Jesse's lecture has hit Shelby a little too close to home. What if Jesse's right, what if Rachel needs her more than she thinks? If not with guidance as she trails her path to adulthood, then with guidance with her singing – Shelby isn't considered the best show choir coach for nothing.

She's about to give up on her search when she hears the smooth baritone of Jesse's laughter sounding quietly not too far behind her. Giving Beth a toy to distract her, she looks around...

… And her eyes find Rachel and Jesse pretty much right away.

Shelby's eyes drink Rachel's appearance immediately. Her daughter is wearing a summer dress in faded pink cotton, her shiny dark hair falling in tousled waves down her slim shoulders, her skin all smooth and glowing. She's smiling, all happy and joyful, her cheek pressed against Jesse's arm as they walk through the tables of the food court, rushing towards the movies complex (when she looks in that direction, she recognizes a handful of New Directions' members, Beth's biological father among them). Once the visibly late couple join their friends, Rachel is hugged by everyone, hands coming to rest over her small baby belly, a wide, bright smile lighting up her daughter's face).

Tears bubble up in Shelby's eyes as she watches her daughter's joy and easiness as she interacts with her friends. She also doesn't miss a detail of Jesse's interaction with Rachel. It's the first time she sees the two of them together, and she now sees clearly what Jesse tried to tell her the night when she pressured him into sneaking her tape in Rachel's organized existence.

Jesse loves Rachel. _How could I be so stupid?_

Her former star is always touching Rachel somehow, whether it is holding hands or with an arm wrapped around Rachel's shoulders or his palm splayed on the small of her back. Rachel's not much different, her eyes always finding Jesse when they're not in contact; and, when they are, she leans against him, obviously happy and relaxed and safe.

A small smile curves Shelby's lips as one single tear runs down her cheek. If she never sees Rachel again (something she thinks it's unlikely to happen, at least for the next two years – Lima is a really small city), she can rest assured knowing her actions have given Rachel something she would take a little longer to find.

Love.

She sees Rachel scratch the nape of her neck absently, her eyes looking around distractedly – she can't look away from her beautiful child, even when their eyes meet and lock, and Rachel stiffens in response.


	16. 15

**Author's Note: ** I'm sorry I took so long to update, but I have been having quite the eventful couple months. I was pregnant. But in January, early in my second trimester, I miscarried my daughter Isabella. This loss has made writing this story – and its Puckleberry companion _To Be a Father_ – extremely painful and hard. Make no mistake: I will write it to completion. It just might take longer than expected.

**Fatherhood**

_Fifteen_

**J**esse has an arm wrapped around Rachel's shoulders when he feels her stiffen abruptly. After the successful conversation with his parents – and the offer he never saw coming, especially from his father – Rachel believes Jonathan St. James is opening up for the idea of being a grandfather – they have just gotten together with Quinn, Puckerman, Santana, Brittany, Matt and Mike for the gathering they had planned. Until five seconds ago, Rachel was relaxed, giggling with Quinn and Brittany, but then something happened and she's now all tense and tightly wound.

"Rach?" He asks her quietly, fingers unconsciously rubbing her shoulders and feeling the tense knots. The worried tone of his voice catches Quinn's attention, and she looks over at Rachel, a frown marring her smooth forehead. Rachel's staring unblinkingly at some point in the middle of the food court, and when Quinn looks in the same direction, she feels the color draining from her face.

Sitting at one of the tables, with an unrecognizable expression on her face and tears in her eyes, Shelby Corcoran looks at them. She looks a little more tired and disheveled than Quinn remembers, all those months ago, from the hospital. But Quinn's eyes are suddenly attracted by the bubblegum pink and gray baby carrier sitting on the plastic table top, and she feels faint at the sight of its precious cargo.

Puck is talking with Rutherford and Chang, laughing at their adventures over dance camp, when he feels a tight grip on his forearm. Frowning in concern, he looks down at his arm, feeling the clammy coldness of the tiny hand that hold him so tight he can feel it on his bones. He looks at Quinn, growing concerned at the paleness on her face and the shock in her eyes. He looks at what she's looking, and his heart stops for a moment before speeding up and beating so fast he can almost swear it's going to pop out of his chest. He recognizes the woman right away – and his mouth goes dry when he sees the baby. "Fuck", he breathes, and Jesse looks alarmed at him.

"What's it, Puckerman?"

Puck's mouth feels like it's filled with sand and sawdust when he whisper-spits out, "Shelby", with a nod towards the entranced former coach of Vocal Adrenaline, and adoptive mother of his daughter. Jesse looks at the same direction, and his face darkens.

"Fuck", Jesse echoes, running a hand through his tousled curls. He steps in front of Rachel, running his hands up and down her arms. "Rachel. Rachel, baby", he says quietly, his tone soothing. He understands why she's frozen in shock, it has been months since she last saw Shelby, and to see Shelby – the mother who rejected her – with Beth – the little girl who, in Rachel's mind, took her place in Shelby's heart. "Do you want to leave? We can leave right away and I know no one will get pissed at us for bailing out of here..."

He's so busy trying to snap Rachel out of her trance (he wants to kill Shelby – this is one issue he seems unable to help Rachel through, how she feels about Shelby's rejections. Yes, she told him everything about how she reached out and pleaded with Shelby to come coach New Directions, and how Shelby turned her down saying she wanted time for family. And he was there for her when she broke down in hysterical tears, reacting to Shelby saying they should be thankful for each other from afar) that he doesn't notice Shelby approaching them until it's too late. By this time, Quinn is practically being held up on her feet by a visibly concerned Santana and Brittany, while Puck is staring sightlessly ahead, his hands tightly clenched into fists and his jaw clenched as well, Matt and Mike trying to keep him from doing something they all know he'll regret. The other six are so busy and worried that no one has the mind to alert the two people who have reacted first to Shelby being there that she is actually approaching their group.

"Rachel", Shelby whispers very quietly, but Rachel whispers and goes deathly pale. Jesse whispers a curse and twirls so he's standing protectively in front of his girlfriend. Shelby's standing a few inches away from them, her eyes filled with tears and her face full of grief and regret. She however has her baby carrier with her and inside the baby carrier, lies Quinn and Puckerman's daughter, a pink little thing with ivory skin, head full of blonde curls and big hazel eyes. "Baby..." His former coach whispers again, and she's almost crying. Jesse wants to snap at her to fuck off and leave them alone, but then he feels Rachel slowly stepping away from him, backing off.

"Stay away from me", she's whispering, and her voice is so broken, so pained, that Jesse's heart clenches in reaction. "And don't call me baby. You don't have the right to – you chose to give it up." Rachel spits; Shelby flinches in shock, and the revengeful side of Jesse's personality smirks satisfied. Having said what she felt necessary, Rachel turns and flees. Jesse turns to Brittany, Santana and Quinn – noticing the latter looking on the verge of a breakdown – and makes a decision.

"Go", he says, and he nods at Santana when she tugs at the two blondes and rushes towards where Rachel fled to. Taking his time to recompose himself enough not to tear Shelby's head off her body in front of a packed mall food court, he turns back to her in time to see her shake off the look of devastation from her face, clench her jaw, square her shoulders and turn towards where Rachel, and then Brittany, Santana and Quinn immediately after, had rushed off to. "Oh, no. Don't you dare", Jesse snaps, standing straight in front of his former coach.

"Move, Jesse", Shelby orders with the voice that, up to six months ago, would send unacknowledged chills of fear down his spine. But that was then. Now, he only smirks like the cocky bastard he is.

"Sorry, no can do", he quips.

"She's my **daughter**". Shelby tries to step around him, but he keeps standing in front of her, keeping her from going after Rachel. She narrows her eyes and glares at him in the icy way that would put the fear of God into her former Vocal Adrenaline pupils. "She's my **daughter** and you can't keep me from her".

"She's my **girlfriend**, my **love**, fuck – my whole **life**, and I can't let you destroy her again – not this time, not when I can keep you from doing it", he shoots back. "You had leverage on me that first time – my scholarship and the fact that I had been keeping from Rachel a lot of secrets that you knew would tear us irreparably apart if she found out from anyone else but me. So I let you do as you pleased – even when it didn't please me. But not this time, Shelby. She's my **girlfriend**, she's having **my** child, and I'll be damned if I let you hurt her again". He closes his eyes, takes a deep breath – when he opens them again, she's shocked by the blue iciness of his stare. "Forget what I said the last time I talked to you about this. Leave us alone, Shelby. Go play house with your new doll – she was the one you chose, not Rachel. So stick with that choice and forget we exist". He turns his back on her, walks away – leaves behind a Shelby Corcoran who looks like she has been slapped on her face.

* * *

**O**nce Jesse's safely away, Puck decides to pounce. He has debts with Rachel – debts he will never be able to fully pay, but that he can start paying little by little in all the ways he's able to. So, once St. James is done bitching Shelby out and storms away to find Berry, Puck steps between the frazzled woman and the rushing teen, his eyes dark and stormy.

"Listen, Ms. Corcoran. Back the fuck off. You've made your choice – you chose my daughter over **yours**. And I swear to God, if I find out you're not a decent mother for my baby, there will be hell to pay".

"Beth's mine", Shelby snapped halfheartedly.

"Beth's **mine**. I never wanted to give her up. If forced, I'll go to courts to have her back." He turns his back to her, a fleeting, tender, loving glance at the sleeping blonde angel on the pink carrier. "Don't forget that". He allows his words to fall heavily between them for a moment, then straightens his spine and barks loudly, "Rutherford, Chang! C'mon, move your asses!"

Shelby shudders at the look of deep disgust on the two boys' faces as they walk past her. Deeply regretful of her rash decisions concerning how to handle her relationship with her teenage daughter, she blinks away tears as she turns to leave the mall.

* * *

**I**t doesn't take long for Santana, Quinn and Brittany to find a quietly sobbing Rachel locked in a stall on the nearest restroom to the food court, the place being target of other women's looks of confusion and deep pity. "Rachel?" Quinn, her own voice thick with tears, knocks at the locked door, as Santana glares nastily as the women and Brittany bounces anxiously near them. "Rachel, it's us, please open up". The blonde insists, discretely wiping her eyes.

Once the room is virtually empty except for them, Brittany locks the front door, and Santana squares her shoulders. "C'mon, Berry. Open up. It's only us here. No judging eyes looking at you like you're a dumb little bitch for getting knocked up. I know you love drama, but quit it a little and let us help".

"Geez, sensitive much, Santana?" Quinn snaps dryly, but her mouth drops open and Santana smiles smugly when the door lock clicks loudly open and Rachel, pale, all red, puffy eyes and tear stained face, steps out of the stall she had been hiding into.

"Atta girl", Santana says as she carefully wraps an arm around the pregnant teen and slowly leads her to the nearest sink. "C'mon, Berry, slap your bitch face on and tell the woman to back the hell off. It's her loss and not yours", she says softly, unaware of Quinn's stunned gaze and Brittany's soft, proud smile. The Latina turns the tap on and gently shoves Rachel into washing her face clean of tears.

"My gut feels funny", Rachel replies in response, eyes closed as she cups a handful of water and carefully splashes her face. Quinn frowns and opens her mouth to say something, but it's interrupted by Rachel's cell phone ringing loudly. A small sigh escapes the pregnant brunette as she smiles softly. "It's Jesse. Can any of you pick my phone up and answer it? I don't want him worrying".

Santana nods and steps aside to answer the phone as Brittany takes over, speaking softly to Rachel. "St. James", the Latina says, dryly.

"_Thank God, you've found her_". The former VA lead's voice is thick with relief over the hustle-bustle of the crowds outside. "_Where are you guys_?"

"Locked inside the nearest female restroom to the food court. Where are you?"

"_Nearby. I'm on my way. Hold on. Is she okay? Are _**they**_ okay?_"

Santana makes a dismissive gesture with her hand, eyes wandering to where Rachel now sits, Brittany frowning in concentration as she fixes Rachel's makeup with Quinn's help. Rachel has her hand over her small rounded belly, and is giggling despite Quinn's mockingly stern warnings for her to relax her face. "She's fine. Red, puffy eyed, but fine. She says her belly feels a little funny but I think she's only hungry. Has she eaten?"

"I have not", Rachel replies instead, "but I'm not hungry. I think it's just leftover morning sickness. My stomach is twisting and fluttering".

"_Tell her I'll be right there. We can go home – all of us – and check out what's on TV tonight_".

"Fine. See you soon". Santana finishes the call and notices the small smile in Quinn's face, which makes her frown in response. "What's so fucking funny, Fabray?" She asks as everyone turns to look at the former head cheerleader.

"Nothing". Quinn replies casually, fixing Rachel's hair into a braid. "It's just that I think Rachel's baby has just started moving".

Santana widens her eyes. Brittany squeals. Rachel gasps and presses her hand against her swollen stomach again, a new batch of tears flooding her eyes. "Oh, no!" Brittany says, pouting. "No crying! I just finished fixing your make-up – you don't want to leave this room looking like a sad raccoon".

Quinn laughs at the taller blonde's reaction and shakes her head fondly. "She's pregnant. Brit. Tears are pretty much a given at this point." Her face takes a faraway look as she whispers, "And this is pretty much a big milestone for her."

Rachel looks concerned at her former rival. "How are **you** doing?" She asks quietly, as Santana rolls her eyes and goes to unlock the door. Quinn shrugs in response to Rachel's question.

"It hurts", she admits after a long while. "To see her. To know that only a handful of months ago she was all mine, now she's someone else's. But it was for the best. Puck and I weren't ready to be parents; we're both too immature for that and we weren't right for each other. Us raising her would be more harmful than beneficial to her".

Rachel looks at the blonde like she wants to say something, but instead sighs and nods. Their quiet moment is interrupted as Jesse rushes in, followed by a gaggle of grumbling females that either glare at the teenager girls or gasp in shock as the older boy wraps his arms around Rachel and hugs her tightly. "Are you okay?" He asks anxiously, taking a step back to examine her appearance. "Are you both okay?"

His girlfriend nods with a small smile, one of her hands going up to cup his cheek, caressing his warm, shaven skin while the other grabs one of his hands and places it on the gentle curve of her pregnant stomach. "I'm fine. **We**'re fine", she assures him in soft tones. "She just started moving, that's all". She giggles and nods as he gasps, his eyes full of wonder.

A proud smile stretches on his face as he presses a fervent kiss to her lips and holds her tighter. "I love you", he states, excitedly, as he repeatedly pecks her mouth. "C'mon. Let's go home. Movies and pizza on me tonight. We're all celebrating. Our daughter just started moving!" He tells Quinn, Brittany and Santana. Brittany cheers loudly while Quinn laughs at his excitement and Santana rolls her eyes, a fleeting, fond smile on her lips.


	17. 16

**Author's Note:** Hi, guys! I'm back! My muse is increasing her work, so let's all be thankful!

I've decided to include a beloved gleek in this. He/She won't show up right away, but I think I've given enough clues in this chapter for you guys to figure out who he/she is! When you review, make sure you tell me who you think they are!

For those who have tumblr, check and follow mine, please! differentsidesofmyselfdottum blrdotcom Also feel free to drop a question or to demand for more updates – I work better under pressure, I've found!

Also, I wanted to share who I envision as Jesse's parents. Claire St. James is Connie Nielsen from _Boss_ (I've started watching this season only because of Jonathan – he looks amazing in it! So damn hot!). Jonathan St. James is Tim deKay from _White Collar_. Jesse's uncle Sam is Gabriel Macht of _Suits_ (yes, I'm an USA series fan. Sue me!)

**Fatherhood**

_Sixteen_

**S**eptember comes quickly. The renovation at the St. James house that will serve as a home for Jesse and Rachel is already underway, Hiram and Leroy Berry having agreed fully with Jonathan and Claire that it's best for their children to have their own house to settle in with their daughter and being relieved that their little girl won't move all the way to Akron and thus making impossible for them to watch her pregnancy progressing.

For now, however, they still set up shop on the Berry residence, swinging on alternate weekends by the St. James manor, where Jonathan and Claire have settled down for the first time in several years. Rachel's stomach keeps getting bigger, not exaggeratedly so, but her condition is way evident now. When she realizes none of her old clothes fits her anymore, she has a major meltdown and basically locks Jesse out on the hall. She listens to her _Spring Awakening_ on repeat for hours, her sobs the only sounds mixing with the music. Jesse sits by her door, his face clearly showing how lost and clueless he is, and Leroy snickers at him while Hiram pats his shoulder sympathetically. When it's four hours since Rachel had her fit, Jesse calls for reinforcement.

Quinn arrives with Brittany and Santana in tow and, while the two blondes manage to talk Rachel into letting them in the locked bedroom, the Latina kicks him out of the house; he finds Matt, Mike and Puck on the porch, there to take him to a guys' afternoon out while the girls take Rachel shopping for maternity clothes. Hours later, when Santana calls saying it's finally safe for him to come back, he obeys, feeling refreshed and renewed after an afternoon of Guitar Hero – he and Puck played Mike and Matt and won by a landslide. He finds Rachel sitting on her bed, wearing a pink dress made of soft cotton, the stretchy fabric adhering to her slightly swollen stomach. When she sees him, her dark eyes fill with tears, her bottom lip quivering as she struggles to keep her emotions in check. "I'm so s-sorry", she whispers meekly, her palms coming up to wipe her tearing eyes.

Jesse rushes to the bed, taking Rachel in his arms. "Oh, no, baby. You don't have to apologize", he climbs into bed with her, placing a sweet kiss to the crown of her head. "I'm okay, see? No permanent harm done" He says as he leans back so that she can look at him. He's smiling fondly at her, and it makes her smile weakly in response. A blush is staining her cheeks, and Jesse cups her chin gently, tilting it up lovingly so that he manages to press a sweet kiss to her lips. "Hey. I'm okay. I promise. So. You have new clothes?"

Rachel smiles, perking up a little as she kneels up on the bed, forcing Jesse to look up. "Brittany picked this up. What do you think?"

With his eyes leveled with her stomach, Jesse feels a deep, primitive instinct stirring deep, low in his belly. His eyes darkening with desire, he rests his chin on her baby bump, his arms circling her expanding waistline as he kisses the baby growing inside her. "You know what, baby girl? You have the most beautiful mommy in the world".

Rachel blushes and giggles, sitting back on her legs to frame his face between her hands and press a tender kiss to his lips. "I love you, do you know that?"

"I do. And I love you too", he says, kissing her back and biting her bottom lip, tugging it gently into his warm mouth. Rachel moans and sits on his lap, her stomach not big enough to keep them from being able to kiss and make out from time to time. After a while, she presses her forehead against his and bites her bottom lip shyly.

"I bought something. For the baby", she whispers, sounding like a little girl confessing a naughty secret. He chuckles as Rachel giggles, shyly twirling a lock of her hair on her finger as he knows she's prone to do when she's anxious. "Do... Do you want to see it?"

Jesse nods. "Of course, babe".

Rachel's eyes sparkle as she climbs down the bed and pads towards a blush pink bag sitting untouched on her desk. Worrying her lower lip anxiously, she goes back to the bed, climbing on it and sitting in front of Jesse, her legs crossed in a lotus position, bouncing slightly on the mattress in her excitement. "Just... hold on..." Pulling out of the bag two pretty white boxes, she gives one to Jesse and puts the other one by her side. "Open it!"

Chuckling at her excitement, and unable to help imagining their little girl acting exactly like her in a few years, he unties the cute blush pink bow that sits on the box lid, which he subsequently opens. Wrapped in thin white tissue paper, he can see the butter yellow onesies; once he tears the paper apart, Jesse's forced to blink back tears.

It's just two simple onesies, short sleeved, in soft butter yellow. However, the most touching part of them is the writing on the chest. In stark black letters, one reads _I'm on MOMMY'S team!_, while the other reads _I'm on DADDY'S team!_

"So? Do you like it?" She asks, anxiously waiting for his reaction. Jesse slides his fingertips over the daddy imprinted on the onesie. It's been a while since he has felt like this, awed and astonished that in a handful of months he's going to be someone's daddy. But it fits that, once again, Rachel's the one to awake this feeling in him.

His eyes are wet with tears when he looks up at her, a beaming smile on his lips as their eyes meet and lock. "I love it", he whispers. "It's amazing, Rach. I can't wait to see her in them".

Rachel grins shyly, her hand splayed on her small belly. "Is it weird for me to say I can't wait to meet her?"

Jesse laughs and pulls her back into his arms, settling her between his legs, her back against his chest. He presses a sweet kiss to the back of her shoulder and rests his chin against it. "No, it's not. I can't either".

* * *

**I**t comes as a furious shock to Rachel, but her position on the high school food chain is even lower now that she's out of New Directions. Sure, she walks through the front doors surrounded by Quinn, Santana, Brittany, Noah, Mike and Matt, using a simple, flowing black dress paired up with charcoal gray tights and red flats, Noah's arm around her shoulders and her pinky linked with Santana's, but her sense of peace and safety lasts until the break between the first two classes.

As usual, Karofsky finds her and throws a slushie right into her face. Having gone through three slushie-free months, the thermal shock is enough to leave her blinking in confusion for a few seconds while the jock, followed by his usual lackey Azimio, laughing raucously. However, old survival instincts kick in quickly, and she picks up her change of clothes from inside her locker. Thankfully, she's wearing her hair tied back, so it doesn't take long for her to clean up and change from the corn-syrup covered clothes.

However, after a period of having to breath through her mouth to keep oxygen going in her lungs – she's wearing one of her old dresses, and it's awfully tight – she's bathed **again** in slushie. This time, however, the attacker is none of McKinley High's athletes.

No, now her offender is someone she called a friend until a handful of months ago.

Kurt and Mercedes slink away from her, both smirking maliciously, the fashionista gripping an empty cup of slushie, his arm linked with the chocolate-skinned diva. With tears threatening to spill from her eyes – and the students' whispers buzzing in her ears, their eyes glued to the small bump clearly visible underneath her old dress – Rachel slams her locker closed and rushes out of the school, her pink bejeweled phone grasped tightly in her hand.

Wiping her face clean of slushie with her free hand, she presses two on her phone keyboard, the speed dial kicking in and making the call. "C'mon... Pick up, pick up, pick up..." She pleads anxiously, lip quivering as she struggles to keep herself from bursting into tears.

"_Rachel?_" Jesse's voice is surprised and worried when the line finally connects.

His voice basically shatters the dam, and the tears start to flow. "J-Jesse..."

"_Rach, what's wrong, babe? Are you okay?_"

"N-no..." Rachel sobs brokenly. "Can... Are you busy? Can you come pick me up?"

"_Sure, I'm with my father at our future house checking how the renovation's going. What happened?_"

"Just... Just come, please? I'll tell you when you get here".

"_Okay. I'm on my way, alright? Do you want me to call your parents?_"

"Please", she whispers. It's only been two hours since she first entered the school, but she feels drained. She just wants to curl up against Jesse on their bed and relax.

She looks down at her prominently displayed belly and makes a decision. For her sake and the sake of her daughter, she's leaving McKinley.

Oh God, where can she go now?

Carmel isn't an option. Too many recent bad memories are attached to that school, even with Jesse there. Besides, Carmel has Giselle, and Giselle will lose no opportunity to make Rachel's life a living hell. And, since Jesse's overprotective instincts towards her have been kicking in more frequently lately, he won't just stand and let that happen (not after his omission nearly caused their breakup, all those months back). And if he fights back, it's just going to cause a big mess and be harmful to him, and she wants to desperately avoid that.

Her musings are interrupted by the sound of tires squealing in front of her, and Jesse comes rushing out of his father's car, eyes wide, face pale as his anxiety is clear as day for everyone to see. He sees how she's covered in slushie, and his eyes narrow to slits, knowing right away what has happened. Rachel sees the way he clenches his fists, his knuckles turning white as he carefully cradles her face in his hands. "Are you okay?" He asks and, since she can't trust her voice not to break (her eyes are already blurred with a fresh batch of tears), she nods weakly. "Who did this to you, babe?" He adds through clenched teeth, leading to his dad's car, where Jonathan's waiting with wide eyes and a confused look on his face. Not wanting to upset Rachel further, he shoots Jonathan a pointed look, and his father knows it's best to just stay quiet and drive.

"Later, okay?" She whispers, as she climbs on the backseat of Jesse's car, Jesse himself climbing up right behind her and wrapping an arm around her slim shoulders. She struggles to get away, trying her best not to crack. "I'm going to get you dirty".

"I don't give a damn, Rach. C'mere".

The tenderness of his voice and the softness of his touch prove to be enough to break Rachel, who curls against him and buries her face on his neck, scalding tears running down her cheeks. "Can... Can we just go home? Please?" The pregnant teen asks. Jesse, heart breaking for the pain he senses in her sobs and gut clenching in anger against the ones who have caused her such pain, just hugs her tighter, nods and kisses the crown of her head.

"Of course, baby", he whispers, and she curls next to him, her head falling gently on his shoulder. Heartbroken, but also furious, but not wanting to trouble the love of his life further, Jesse looks up and locks eyes with his father through the rearview mirror. Seeing the older St. James' curiosity and concern, the younger man shakes his head imperceptibly, to which his father nods, accepting. The grandfather-to-be turns on the stereo on the car, and Jesse immediately begins to hum along to the song playing, the sound lulling Rachel to sleep.

Once he's sure she's deeply asleep, his face darkens and he pulls out his phone. Tapping a number on the gadget, he brings it to his ear. Two seconds later, someone answers, and Jonathan watches with barely concealed interest as his son stars speaking. "Puckerman? It's me. Listen, some stupid person slushied Rachel. I want you to find out who it was".

"_Beyoncé and Mercedes_", the jock replies promptly, voice dark with anger, and Jesse frowns in puzzlement. As he focuses on the noises behind Puckerman, he realizes there's someone – a girl – screaming in Spanish, while some other girl berates someone else with words like "Lord Tubbington likes Rachel and her baby".

"Is that... Santana?" He asks, eyes wide.

"_Yup_", Puck confirms, an underlining of pride in his voice. "_We walked in on Beyoncé and Thunder bragging about having slushied the _loser_, as they've taken to call Rach. San basically went apeshit on them, slapped Kurt and is now screaming at him in basically three languages. Brittany was as nuts as she can be, too._"

Jesse chuckles in disbelief. "You're kidding! Brittany too?"

"_She's cuckoo, but she's loyal to a fault. Plus, she loves babies, and children adore her back. Your kid will probably be her new plaything. Wait. How did you find out about Rach being doused in syrup?_"

"She called me. Remember, we've just been through three months with no slushie to the face whatsoever", Jesse explains, and nods at his father's shocked gasp. "She was pretty shattered".

"_I bet. Oh, fuck, this is going to get so damn ugly_", Puck mumbles suddenly, then adds, "_Mercedes made the mistake to call Rachel a slut for being a teenager mother. She also called Brittany a dumb blonde. Brit's crying. And Q's gonna tear Mercedes a new one. Man, this is gonna be _good_!_"

The father-to-be laughs and rolls his eyes good naturedly. "Do me a favor and thank the girls for me, will you? I'll talk to you later. Ah, and try to keep them and the other guys from killing Kurt and Mercedes. You can't afford the luxury of losing more members, and they aren't worth it".

"_I'll try, man. But I won't promise I won't step into this if they say something I think the girls won't be able to take care of themselves_".

"Are you trying to tell me there **is** something they aren't able to handle?" Jesse teases, and Puck snorts.

"_Sorry. I forgot for a moment who I was talking about. My mistake. I'll let you go, St. James. Later_".

"Later, man. And thanks". Having hung up, the younger man smiles and shakes his head, not pitying Kurt and Mercedes for a second. After a few moments, Jonathan's tentative voice breaks the silence.

"So... Slushies to the face?"

Jesse sighs and nods. "Rachel's one of the main targets of bullying in McKinley. I've managed to kick some of it to the curb a few months ago when I went there, but now that she's pregnant and we're back together, even her former teammates joined in".

"I see. Has she considered transferring to somewhere else?"

"She has, but it's not like she has a lot of available options. After all, she won't go to Carmel thanks to the stunt we pulled three months ago. She's made it clear when I took Goolsby's offer to be assistant coach".

"She can go to St. Anne", Jonathan offers after a few more moments. "Once the house is ready, she'll be within the district attended by it. In fact, it won't be too far from the house. And both St. Anne and its sister school for boys have a zero-tolerance policy. She won't be bulled there".

Jesse looks thoughtfully, stroking Rachel's dark hair. "It's worth a try. I'll talk to her".


	18. 17

**Fatherhood**

_Seventeen_

**T**he rest of the ride is made in comfortable silence, something Jonathan revels in. It has been so long since he and Jesse had a little time for themselves, and ever since Jesse grew old enough to realize his dreams of being a Broadway superstar weren't exactly what his father dreamed for him the comfortable companionship they had during Jesse's early childhood practically vanished like it had never existed before. Rachel's soundly asleep on the backseat, curled around Jesse, her sticky clothes adhering to her skin, her burgeoning stomach more on display. She looks so young, so peaceful, so different from the lively girl he has come to see as a daughter, from the broken shell he and his son just picked up from her school.

With time, Jonathan has come to see what everyone had seen from day one: Rachel is good for Jesse. It's a revelation that came to him with time, born from minutes he spent the last several months watching his son with the girl he's sure will become his daughter-in-law one day. Jesse and Rachel are always touching in some way, and the adoring look in both their faces when looking at each other cannot be faked. Christ, Jonathan feels so **old**. It seems like yesterday that Claire, young, beautiful and happy Claire had rushed into one of his meetings, her eyes sparkling with excitement and a pregnancy test clutched tight in her hand, announcing to the world that she was expecting their first child. Their first and only child, damn postpartum depression.

They arrive at the St. James manor, and Jesse manages to extract Rachel from the car without waking her up. Silently, Jonathan signals to his son that he'll wait for him on his home office, and Jesse nods before going to put Rachel, still soundly asleep, on the guest room. Kissing her forehead tenderly, he flicks a rebellious lock of hair back and caresses her cheek lovingly. "I love you, baby", he whispers, his voice thick with emotion, "and you'll never hurt again, I promise".

Leaving the door half-open so he can hear Rachel once she wakes up, he goes to his father's office, and finds Jonathan sitting behind his desk, fingers entwined, two of them up and pressing thoughtfully against his lips. Jesse falls heavily on the chair across his father, and rubs a hand tiredly on his face. "I'm selfish enough to want Rachel in Carmel, where I **know** she'd be safe", he declares, his voice cool and controlled. "But I know that's not an option, not after what happened between us and Vocal Adrenaline. So… St. Anne?"

"Yes", Jonathan nods. "St. Anne is the second best choice. But first you said you'd tell me all about those slushies".

"Oh, yes", Jesse sighs. "Rachel's someone who's incredibly sure – and rightfully so – of her talent. She knows she's a triple threat and she's not afraid of making sure everyone else knows too. She knows what she wants and she fights for what she thinks she deserves, and does so loudly. Add that to the fact that she refuses to conform, and it's enough to make her the target of massive bullying from those sitting atop of the high school food chain".

There's silence for a moment, with Jonathan nodding slowly in understanding even though Jesse can't see him, as his son carries on. "But it's not just that. Rachel is – and I say this with no fear of being mistaken – the most talented member of New Directions. She's their female lead and star for a reason. Every once in a while the other members can bully her into giving up a solo, but that didn't happen when we were together, and they hated me for that and because they thought I had transferred to spy on them".

"But you didn't…?" Jonathan trails off, hating the questioning tone his words take at the end. Jesse looks fiercely at his father, looking nearly offended at his insinuation.

"I did not! I fell for Rachel the moment I heard her sing. God, dad…" His face softens, and his eyes sparkle as he remembers. "… The moment I heard the opening notes for _Don't Rain on My Parade_, I was terrified it was going to be butchered by some chick who thought they could treat it the way it deserves. But then Rachel came out, and… It's been almost six months, and just remembering it still leaves me speechless. I knew right then and there I had to meet that girl".

Jonathan can't believe this is happening, can barely believe his son is confiding in him. Enthralled, he leans forward as Jesse carries on.

"It was purely coincidental that I ran into her on the music shop. But I knew I had to sing with her, and when we sang… I knew I had met my one and only. Our voices together are breathtaking, dad. She just… She didn't hold back! She just…"

"You fell in love right away", Jonathan says with a chuckle, and Jesse blushes just barely.

"Not exactly right away. Friday that same week, I went to her house to help her with her glee club assignment, and she faced me off toe to toe, note to note. **That**'s when I fell for her".

"She's good for you, Jesse", Jonathan admits honestly. "I know I wasn't exactly welcoming when you told us she was expecting, but it was just shock speaking. Plus, you've grown to be so fiercely protective and secretive of your personal affairs, neither I nor your mother even suspected you were in a serious, committed relationship."

"I know", Jesse sighs deeply and runs his fingers through his thick, silky hair. "I was trying to protect Rachel."

Jonathan nods. "I know. And she deserves it. Jesse, that girl looks at you like you've hung the sun, the stars and the moon".

A soft smile curves Jesse's lips, and he nods. "I know". Taking a deep breath, he carries on, "So… St. Anne?" He frowns pensively. "Isn't it a Catholic school?" He sighs deeply when his father nods. "Rachel's Jewish – and pregnant. I don't think they'll accept her".

"Nonsense", his father states firmly. "Like its sister school, St. Anne's accepting of all sorts of people. They only demand the students work hard and give their all. Rachel will be safe there, Jesse. I wouldn't suggest St. Anne if I weren't sure it would be good for her".

Nodding thoughtfully, the younger boy sighs. "Okay. I'll talk to her." Standing up, the Carmel graduate hesitates for a moment before he offers his father a small smile. "Thanks, dad. For everything".

* * *

**R**achel wakes up in a strange bed, and for a while, she feels panic and fear gripping at her heart with an iron fist. But then the memory of what happened earlier that morning flashes back to her and she relaxes, if slightly. Wiping the sleep from her eyes, the pregnant teen stands up from the and goes to the adjoining bathroom, checking her reflection in the mirror.

Her eyes are swollen from sleep and tears, her face still sticky from the syrup of the slushie mixed with the tears she had shed. Breathing deeply to keep her eyes from watering again – those who hurt her don't her tears, she decides – she washes her face the best she can and ties her hair back on a high ponytail. With her face scrubbed clean, she leaves the suite behind and walks uncertainly into the living room. Looking distractedly around, she slams straight into a hard body, delicately strong arms wrapping themselves around her growing waist to keep her from falling on her butt. The tingle that runs through her body in response to the careful embrace brings a smile to her face.

"Are you okay?" She opens her eyes and comes face to face with Jesse's worried look. "I was about to go to the room where I left you when we arrived, we have to talk".

Fear floods into her dark pools and she swallows thickly. "Oh… okay…?" She straightens up and steps away from his embrace, trying to keep her heart and fear in check. "Where do you want to go talk?"

Smiling reassuringly, Jesse leads her back to his room, closing the door behind her. Climbing on his bed, he pulls her onto it with him and wraps his arms around her, not giving a second thought to her ruined clothes. "Are you feeling better?" He asks, kissing her shoulder lovingly.

Realizing how affectionate Jesse is being with her, Rachel relaxes into his arms and sighs, nodding a little uncertainly. "Yes… I think I am. But I don't want to go back to McKinley, Jesse".

Relief floods him as her words sink on him. Tightening his hold on her, he kisses her hair tenderly. "You don't have to", he says, but before he can tell her what his father suggested, she interrupts.

"But I don't want to go to Carmel either".

"You won't have to", he reassures her. "My father knows someone from St. Anne, and he assured me they have a zero tolerance policy towards bullying".

Rachel tilts her head to look at him, confused. "But isn't that a Catholic school? I'm Jewish, Jesse".

"Dad swore they'll accept you, Jewish and pregnant. And I trust my father, Rachel".

She looks at him, still a little uncertain, worrying her lower lip silently. "Do you think that's the best choice?"

"I'll be honest with you, Rachel. The best choice is Carmel, but since we can't go for that, then yes, I think St. Anne is the best school for you at this point of your life".

Taking a deep breath, Rachel nods. "Then St. Anne it is. But you know I'll have to talk to my parents about transferring, don't you?"

Beaming with joy, Jesse grins. "They'll agree. Better yet, I think they'll be thrilled. I mean, how many times have they tried to talk you into leaving McKinley?"

Rachel's face flames up with embarrassment and she looks away from him, pressing her teeth into her lower lip shamefully. "Actually…"

Jesse looks disbelievingly at her. "You never told them you were victim of bullying at your school?"

"I didn't want them to try and fight something they couldn't fight off!" She protests hotly.

"But Rachel, they deserved at least to have the chance to try and protect you!"

"What good would it have done? They can't protect me forever, Jesse! Sometimes things happen for a reason, and trying to keep such things from happening would just keep me from learning lessons I would need later in life!"

Jesse looks amazed at her, admiration shining in his eyes. "You're going to be an amazing mother", he breathes out, pulling her into his laps, her legs wrapping loosely around his waist. Placing his hands splayed open on the small of her back, he smiles at her, his fingers sliding teasingly under the soft fabric of her top.

Grinning coyly at her boyfriend, the pregnant teenager wraps her arms around his neck and pecks his lips quickly. "Yeah?" She whispers, sinking her fingers in his soft curls and pressing her forehead against his. "Well, I think you're going to be an amazing daddy to this lucky little girl".

Beaming at her, Jesse plasters his lips to hers on a passionate kiss. "I love you", he breathes against her lips once they break apart.

She beams back at him. "I love you, too".

* * *

**T**he talk between Rachel, Jesse, his parents and her fathers is painful and exhausting. Hiram cries and hugs Rachel tightly, his tears soaking her clothed shoulder. Leroy rages and threatens to go over to McKinley and give a whooping to whoever dared to hurt his little girl. Claire tries to comfort Hiram so he stops crying. Jonathan is working to talk Leroy out of suing the school district for the emotional damage caused to Rachel by the stress she went through by the hand of her tormentors.

When it ends, the Berry men is quick to agree on Rachel transferring to St. Anne, Jesse is dead set on being the one to go to McKinley to pack Rachel's locker up and Rachel herself is shaky and exhausted. Jesse is quick to lead her to her bedroom so she can rest, leaving the adults on the sitting room to iron out the details.

The next morning, Hiram and Jonathan drive Rachel up to St. Anne to enroll her, while Jesse escorts Leroy and Claire to McKinley so the former can pull up her transfer papers and she can help Jesse himself clean out Rachel's locker. However, recalling just how furious the African-American man was the previous night when he found out just how bullied his daughter was, Jesse quietly pleads with her to accompany him to the school administration room, and Claire agrees.

Jesse is left alone with an empty cardboard box by his feet, Rachel's locker combination on a paper in his hand and joy and relief for her in his heart. He's busy neatly piling up her books and binders in the box when he feels the weight of angry eyes on the back of his neck. Rubbing the spot absently, he looks around and straightens up his spine when his blue eyes meet with Finn Hudson's dark, angry ones.

The taller, younger boy marches up towards the clear winner of their competition for Rachel's heart, shoulders stiff with tension and fury as he gets closer to Rachel's current love. "What the **fuck** you're doing here, St. Jerk?!" The quarterback barks out, his angry words echoing on the empty hall.

Jesse's eyes turn icy. "What does it seem I'm doing, beanstalk?"

Finn's eyes slide over Jesse's form, drinking up every detail as he fondly places Rachel's things on the box by his feet. It quickly clicks on Finn, and he angrily rips the box away from Jesse. "Why the hell are you packing up Rachel's stuff?!" He yells, clutching the half-full box protectively.

Jesse smirks mockingly. "Why does anyone clean up their locker?"

Finn gapes. "Rachel's leaving?!"

On the immediate aftermath, three shocked voices sound from around them.

"Thank God!"

"_Oy, vey!_"

"That selfish bitch!"


	19. 18

**Fatherhood**

_Eighteen_

**J**esse rolls his eyes as he turns around to face Kurt, Puck and Mercedes. However, the two fashionistas are busier looking at each other with astonished surprise, Mercedes' pretty face clearly expressing her shock at her best friend's reaction to the news of Rachel's transfer to a new school.

"Why are you happy **she**'s leaving?!" Mercedes gapes at Kurt.

"Why aren't you?" The frail boy shoots back, shoulders squaring as he clearly prepares to face off his best friend.

"Because she's being **selfish**!" Mercedes barks. "As usual! Whenever we don't bend to her will, she quits! But this is taking things a little too far! She never transferred before!"

"That's because she didn't think she had a choice", Jesse pipes up, dry amusement in his eyes. "But now she has. She's leaving to a better, safer school. And, now that I think about that…" He taps one of his fingertips against his chin, absently, "… I actually have you two to thank for that!" Vocal Adrenaline's former lead grins.

The two friends react wildly differently to that little revelation. Kurt shamefully looks down to his stylish shoes with blood flooding his cheeks, while Mercedes goes as pale as a sheet. "What… What do you mean?" The African-American girl stutters.

"What do you **think **propelled Rachel into considering a transfer to other school?" Puck cuts in smoothly, pulling the box with Rachel's things from Finn's nearly slack grasp. He puts it back on Jesse's feet and quickly starts pulling things out of her now former locker. "The stunt you two pulled yesterday, that was what. So, you know, thanks".

Kurt's blush deepens, while Mercedes' paleness grows thicker. Silence falls over the small group like a heavy, uncomfortable blanket, but Finn, who was until then silent, explodes.

"What the fuck did you two do to Rachel?" He glares at Mercedes and Kurt. Mercedes' paleness gives way to a sickly blush, and she looks down to the floor while Kurt takes a deep breath and squares his shoulders, looking into Finn's eyes.

"We slushied her. Mercedes said it was the first time there was someone more of a loser than us in McKinley so we had to jump at the opportunity", he states, and Mercedes glares at him sideways.

"Kurt!" She hisses. "Shut up!"

"No! Do you know what happened to me when I got home last night? My dad was in the parking lot when Rachel left yesterday. He was dropping my car off for me, because he had taken it to some long overdue engine check, and he was coming to give me my keys when he overheard Santana, Brittany and Quinn tearing us a new one for what we had done to Rachel." Kurt's eyes grew unfocused. "I never saw my dad as disappointed in me as he was last night. He never was this upset with me before, not even when I came out to him".

"It's all her fault! Why aren't you angry at her?"

"Because it is **not** her fault!" Kurt exploded angrily. "She never did anything to us, Mercedes! We were wrong to turn our back to her when she needed us the most!" He's vehement on his defense of Rachel, and that new development is making everyone look at him wide-eyed.

Jesse, who is watching the whole scene play out in front of him, with his shoulder pressed against the locker next to Rachel's, says casually, "You know, Hummel, maybe there's still hope for you. Rachel always said there's a decent guy hiding inside you and for the first time I believe she has a point".

Kurt blushes and looks down, guilt eating at him for his attitude to Rachel and her pregnancy. Taking a deep breath, he squares his shoulders and looks at Jesse. "Please tell Rachel I'm really sorry for everything I have done to her. And I mean **everything**".

Jesse watches him for a moment and then nods silently. Without a word for anyone, he shoulders the box and leaves the hall, Puck following just as silently.

* * *

**R**achel is floored as she arrives in St. Anne. The school's building is probably the most beautiful construction she has ever seen, looking more like a Southern plantation house than a school per se. She can almost see coquettish Southern belles like one Scarlett O'Hara walking out of the house for a stroll around the beautifully gardened property, and her hand finds her daddy's, squeezing it for support. "It's beautiful here", she breathes, clearly awed.

Hiram squeezes her hand back, a small smile on his face. "It is, isn't it?" He looks around, taking in the beautiful scenario. He knows Rachel will be happy here, he can feel it in his bones in a way he never felt when she was going to McKinley.

A warm hand finds its way to Rachel's shoulder, and she looks up to see Jonathan's gently smiling face. "I'm glad it pleases you, Rachel. C'mon, we have a meeting with the headmaster". Jesse's father leads the young brunette and her father to St. Anne's main entrance, and Rachel unconsciously holds her breath as the beautifully carved wooden doors open.

It's warmer inside, the halls bustling with students coming and going. Groups of girls are gathered together, their uniforms blending together in a sea of navy blue skirts and matching jackets, white shirts peeking out from necklines as feminine voices mix in a pleasant buzzing noise. Rachel watches with wide eyes as two girls walk down the hall in front of her, their linked hands a clear sign of their togetherness. No one bats an eye, and tears flood Rachel's eyes.

She has to stop for a moment, and breathes deeply through her nose, trying to keep her emotions at bay. Hiram's also seen the same couple, and he's deeply touched as well, his dark eyes shiny with unshed tears. Jonathan stays silent, respecting the moment father and daughter are going through. But then Rachel, having recomposed herself, straightens her spine and turns happy eyes to Jonathan. "Let's go?"

He smiles at her, relieved to see she's not about to burst in tears, and nods. As he takes them to the headmistress' office, he can't help but wonder at how much he has grown to like this girl.

Jonathan hadn't been born to rich parents. His story of success was one of hard work, sacrifices and a few strokes of luck. Having married Claire out of love, it was a lucky break that she was the older daughter of a rich father who adored her. When Claire was pregnant with Jesse, he heard from his father-in-law just how many gold diggers had pretended to be in love with Claire just because of the money she was going to inherit once he died, and that made Jonathan fear for the son Claire was carrying inside her.

For a while, he had feared that Rachel would be just like those guys; a young girl who looked at his amazing son and saw just the money attached to the St. James name. But when he first met her, back when she and Jesse told their parents they were going to have a family… When he saw the fear and the anxiety in her eyes, the tightness of her grip in Jesse's hands, the love that shone in her dark pupils when she looked at him… Something tense, worried and tight within him loosened up and melted away.

Yes, she and Jesse are too young to be already preparing to welcome a child and start their own family. But… He can tell, from what he has heard from Claire about Rachel and her family, and from he himself has managed to see on all the weeks he knows her, that Rachel, like Jesse, is wiser than her years. She's an old soul, someone who knew from an early age what she wanted and has been bullied by other, more immature teenagers for longer than he wants to think about.

So, yes, she's young. She's a little older than a kid in some ways, and other men in his position would hate her for what they would call 'trapping' Jesse by getting pregnant. But he knows this is not the case, he knows she loves Jesse and, more importantly, Jesse **loves** her. For the longest time he thought his son would never know true love, but somehow Jesse managed to find the perfect woman for him, who, blessedly, loves him back. Jonathan can't help but love Rachel as his daughter, the daughter he knows she'll be in just a handful of years.

The trio arrives at the administration's offices and a young woman with kind eyes receives them with a polite smile. "Jonathan St. James?" She asks, addressing Jonathan, who nods. "He's already expecting you".

"Great, thank you", he smiles back at her and leads Rachel and Hiram into the adjoining office.

It's clearly the headmaster's office. It's big, with wide windows that let in the bright sun. There are pictures and diplomas hanging from the walls, and a large desk in the middle of the room. The man sitting behind the desk looks up from whatever papers he was reading when they entered and smiles at Jonathan, standing up. "Well, well, well, if it isn't Jonathan St. James as I live and breathe!" He says boisterously as he crosses the room to greet Jonathan. "Please, do come in!"

"Thank you, Gabriel. I'm sorry to drop in so suddenly".

"Well, I can tell you it was quite a surprise to receive a call from you the other day. I thought you only had a son with Claire?" Gabriel looks at Rachel with polite curiosity. She shyly smiles back, one of her hands clasped with Hiram's, the other resting over her slight baby bump.

She's starting to get why Quinn was always so angry and defensive when she was pregnant: the way people look at her, with condescension, pity and some even superiority, makes her angry now, and she's not even showing **that** much yet. Yes, she's a teenager, and she's single (technically) and still in school. But that doesn't make her baby – her daughter – a mistake. So she'll be a mother sooner than expected. So what? She and Jesse are crazy about each other and more committed than many longtime married couples she knows.

So she defiantly looks at that man, as if daring him to tell her what a sinner she is. But there's nothing negative in his eyes, just slight confusion and a gentle curiosity. For the first in weeks, she feels herself relaxing in front of strangers.

"Yes, you're right; I'm here to discuss the transfer for Rachel. She's Jesse's fiancée and they plan on getting married any time within the next five years. They're not in any rush", Jonathan says as he leads Rachel and Hiram to the chairs in front of Gabriel's desk. Gabriel himself takes back his seat behind the furniture piece.

"I see", he says as he leans on the chair, his fingers entwined in front of him. "May I ask why?" The man looks straight at Rachel and, when Jonathan opens up his mouth to reply, he lifts up a hand to silence him. "I'd like to hear from Miss Rachel, if you don't mind, Jonathan".

Rachel flushes at being directly addressed, but faces him head on. "I'm pregnant, as I'm sure you can see. But my pregnancy just worsened the bullying I was a victim to ever since I started high school at William McKinley High". She stops for a moment, breathes deeply (it shouldn't hurt to speak of that, not that much). "I'm talented, Mr.-"

"Dalton", Gabriel replies. "Gabriel Ryan Dalton".

"Rachel Barbara Berry", she says with a smile. "I'm talented, Mr. Dalton. I won't lie to you about that. I'm talented and I know it. And I'm not afraid to show it. I know what I want in life and where I want my life to take me in the future, and I'm not afraid to fight for it". The brunette tenses her fingers against her father's, and he squeezes her hand reassuringly. "The students at McKinley High didn't like that. They saw me as a freak, as a weirdo, who had to be put in her place. And they've done it to me, repeatedly, since last year".

Gabriel's face is dark and serious as he stares at her. "What do you mean, Ms. Berry? What have they done to you?"

"Anything short of physical violence", she replies curtly. After a tense silence, she sighs. "McKinley High's bathroom walls are littered with pornographic drawings of me. They call me names, freak being the tamest. They criticize the way I dress, the way I style my hair." Tears bubble in her eyes and she draws in a sharp breath, trying to keep them from falling. "They speak ill of my fathers. They leave nasty messages on my MySpace videos. Some even say my mother should've aborted me".

Hiram gasps and lifts his hand to cover his mouth. Tears overflow his eyes. "Oh, Rachel…"

"But surely you must have some friends, a place where there's no bullying", Gabriel asks quietly. She snorts derisively.

"I thought I had. My glee club – I'm the female lead – was supposed to be my haven". She wipes at her eyes angrily. "Lately they're even worse than the other students".

"Why's that, Miss Berry?"

"Mr. Dalton, I am the lead. Naturally, this means all solos should be mine, do you agree?"

"Ideally, yes, that would be right", Gabriel says with a nod.

"Well, try telling that to the other members of New Directions." She smiles bitterly. "They're always whining about how I hog the spotlight and the solos. In their favor, I'll say they used to not bully me as much as the others. But that was before".

"Before?"

"Before I met and fell for Jesse. Jesse was the lead for Vocal Adrenaline, you see, and they were our chief competition. Once they found out we were dating, they forced me to choose between the team and him. I went to Jesse and we agreed to date in secret. But then he transferred to McKinley for me and we went public". She rubbed her belly absently. "He left though, went back to Carmel. My teammates called me stupid for having believed he loved me".

"This is so much like Romeo and Juliet", Jonathan mumbles.

Rachel giggles. "It has a happier ending, Mr. St. James, I promise". She falls serious again. "Once we told them I'm with child, it got worse. They joined on the brutal bullying. They slushied me yesterday. That's when I snapped. I called Jesse on a crying fit and he came to pick me up with his father".

Gabriel is silent for a moment. When he speaks, his eyes are compassionate. "I can understand your wish to leave that behind, Ms. Berry." He presses a button on the intercom on his desk. "Mariette, can you please come to escort Ms. Berry to the enrolling office?"

"_Will do, Mr. Dalton_", the woman's voice comes staticky out of the device, and she walks in shortly after, leading Rachel out and leaving Jonathan and Hiram to iron out the details with Gabriel. Mariette leads Rachel to a big building a few feet away from St. Anne's main building, and not for from where she is she can see a beautiful building remarkably similar to St. Anne, only stark dark where St. Anne's pristine white. She and Mariette make the brief walk in silence, and when they stop in front of double, heavy wooden doors the woman turns to Rachel with a smile. "Welcome to St. Anne, Ms. Berry".

"Thank you", she replies with a small smile and pushes the doors open. The enrolling offices are unsurprisingly quiet, Rachel being the only youngster in the building. A tall, blonde woman slightly over her forties greets her with a polite smile.

"Can I help you?"

"Yes, please. I'm Rachel Berry. I was told by Headmaster Dalton to come here?"

"Oh yes", the woman nods and picks up a small stack of papers from her desk, which she hands to Rachel along with a pen. "You can sit there to fill your paperwork, Ms. Berry".

"Thanks", Rachel says with a small smile, and looks around, noticing, for the first time, the presence of a young boy sitting on a small bench, filling probably his own paperwork. She approaches him with a cautious smile, her eyes noticing the small bruise on his wrist. "Excuse me?" She says softly. "May I sit?"

The boy looks up sharply, and Rachel's eyes widen in shock as she sees the fading bruises, the small cut on his lip. His eyes are hazel, and he looks scared at her for a moment. "W-what?" He stutters nervously.

She shakes her paperwork. "I have to fill these. May I sit?"

"Oh", the boy breathes, and relaxes if only a tiny bit. He opens a little space to her on the bench. "Please", he makes a gesture with his hand, wincing a little and dropping his pen to massage the sore spot. "So… You're new to St. Anne?" He asks quietly, but conversationally.

Rachel nods. "Just transferring", she replies and after a moment offers tentatively, picking up his pen and paperwork. "May I?"

The look the boy shoots her is filled with gratefulness. "Please", he replies, eyes flooding with tears. He hastily wipes them, cursing quietly when his abruptness makes his hand ache. "God, I hate this", he mumbles.

"These must have hurt", she says quietly as she overlooks the data she'll need from him. "Name?"

"Blaine", the boy replies. "Blaine Matthew Anderson".

She grins at him. "Nice to meet you, Blaine. I'm Rachel".

He smiles hesitantly back at her. "Nice to meet you too, Rachel".


	20. 19

**Author's Note:** Who would have guessed? I updated this again! YAY! I'm glad you guys reacted so well to Blaine showing up. My muse decided she wanted another gleek to appear, but I'm not sure how you're going to react to him because he's not as loved as Blaine clearly is. However, I dig the guy and I can imagine him and Jesse being friends.

**Fatherhood**

_Nineteen_

**W**hen Rachel returns home from her excursion to St. Anne with Jonathan and Hiram, she's exhausted beyond belief, hungry like she hasn't eaten in months and thrilled in a way she hasn't been in weeks. Finding a friend in Blaine helped, of course. They spent several minutes after she filled both their paper works talking about what led them to, respectively, St. Anne and its sister school for boys, Dalton.

_According to Blaine, he was one of the two openly gay boys in his previous school. It was hard, having to face all that prejudice and the bullying that came along with it, but Blaine and his friend Ezra dealt with it. "Ezra and I didn't want them to think we were ashamed of who we were. So we stuck with being out and proud of it. We weren't blatant, but eventually people began to notice we didn't date and we didn't check the cute girls out, so they made our lives progressively harder". The dark-haired, bruised boy lifted his chin confidently. "But we refused to fit in, refused to retreat back to the closet where they wanted us to be"._

_His words made her think instinctively of Kurt, and she smiled slightly. "I know someone who is just like that too", she told Blaine. "So… What happened?"_

_He looked away, eyes unfocused as he remembered. "The school board set the date for a dance and the student body was buzzing with excitement about it. Inevitably, Ezra and I also caught the dance fever and began talking about if we were going to go or not. Eventually, we realized we had as much right to enjoy the dance as everyone in our school had and decided to go together". He stopped and took a deep breath; as if sensing something, she took her hand on his and squeezed it in support._

"_Then what?"_

"_We were dancing on the hall after school ended, goofing off, joking we needed to rehearse how we were going to rule the dance floor. Ezra twirled me and I bumped on our school's team quarterback". He closed his eyes; his chin quivered and his voice grew lower, thicker. "He shoved me and glared at me, but a teacher appeared and he left immediately after. Ezra brushed it off as the usual looks we got, but that glare spooked me. There was… There was so much hate in it"._

_The brunette shivered as she remembered the look in Mercedes' eyes when the girl had shucked a slushie at her and nodded. "Then?"_

_Blaine's eyes were clenched tightly and the words rushed out of his mouth. "That night, I went to pick Ezra up for the dance. He lived near the school so we decided it would be better if we just walked there, you know. It would save us the money from having to rent a limo." The beaten boy squeezed Rachel's hand so tight, she winced slightly but didn't complain. "We were about two blocks away when they jumped us. The quarterback and his entire posse. I don't remember anything from the attack – other than Ezra screaming." Tears began running down his face, and Rachel felt her heart breaking. "I don't know if anyone interrupted them during the attack or if we were found after they were done. The doctors said I was very lucky I didn't have my spine broken. All in all, I walked out pretty much unharmed. They broke my arm in two places and for three weeks my eye was so swollen I couldn't see."_

_Rachel's heart clenched in fear at his silence about his friend. "And… And Ezra?"_

_Blaine let out a heartbreakingly quiet sob. "When we were rescued… or saved, I don't know… It was too late to do anything for him. They tried, of course – Ezra's father was a doctor at our county's hospital – but he… he… he moved on", he swallowed thickly, "on the table". He opened his eyes and fixed his haunted, tearful gaze on Rachel. "I never even got to say goodbye. The last thing he told me was that he was so happy he had a friend like me to go through that experience with him"._

_Rachel's heart shattered at that, and she took Blaine in her arms, rubbing his back as he wept bitterly in his grief._

Understandably, her emotionally charged afternoon with her new friend leaves her drained. She has no energy to do anything other than change into a comfy navy blue cotton dress and crawl into her bed, curling around the pillow Jesse uses when they crash at her parents' home and breathing in the scent left there. It smells like him and it makes her heart clench – she just missed him so damn much today.

As if invoked by her thoughts, he walks in the bed, smiling softly at seeing her curled up like that, clinging to his pillow and her cheek pressed against hers. A small but bright smile appears on her face and she holds out a hand for him. He drops her box on the floor next to the door and toes off his shoes before lying on the bed next to her, his hand on her small bump. "How are my girls doing?" He asks quietly, and she hums in pleasure, closing her eyes at the flutter of the baby inside her.

"We're fine", she promises him, sliding closer to him on the bed. "Tired, but fine. And all set to transfer".

"Tired?" Jesse asks, concerned, but doesn't move his hand from where it's caressing her slightly swollen stomach. "Everything went peachy on St. Anne?"

"Oh, yes." She lazily opens an eye and shoots him another smile. "I just… I just had a really emotionally charged afternoon at St. Anne. There was this couple – this **lesbian** couple – and they were walking down the hall, holding hands, making clear to everyone that they were together – and no one looked twice at them". The pregnant girl takes a deep breath and looks at her boyfriend. "My daddy and I were deeply touched by that. And then there was Blaine".

Jesse raises an eyebrow – trust Rachel to find a guy in an all-girls school. "Blaine?" He asks, hating the jealousy that seeps into his voice unbidden. But when Rachel laughs and kisses him passionately, he decides getting a little… overprotective… wasn't that bad after all.

"Relax, love", she tells him after they breathlessly break apart. "He's gay. His story is really sad. He and his friend got beaten up by his peers at his old school and he's transferring to St. Anne's sister school for boys". She burrows deeper into his warmth and closes his eyes. "His friend died".

Jesse closes his eyes and hugs her a little tighter. "That's sad to hear. But I trust he's relatively safe and healthy now?"

"Definitely safe, on his way to healthy though. A little black and blue and most likely sore like hell, but he'll live". She closes her eyes and tries not to break down in tears over the intolerance that still prowls around the world over those who can't understand that love just is. "While he was crying on me, all I could think was that I was so thankful I have you by my side while we go through this", she looks down at her small belly. "Blaine sounded desperately lonely, heartbroken, scared. He lost the only friend he had that could understand what he's going through, and…"

"You want to be friends with him", Jesse guesses, his heart swelling with love for the young woman in his arms. "You're going to be such an amazing mom. Our daughter and I are two lucky people".

Rachel giggles, blushing, and busies herself with playing with Jesse's shirt's button. He lets the silence fall over them, knowing she'll break it when she wants to. And she does, a little later. "Your father told St. Anne's headmaster we're engaged", she whispers, and he chuckles. He knows what she's asking without her having to say it out loud, and he has half a mind to have her spell it out to him, but he knows it's just going to embarrass her – he knows she's terrified of pressuring him into something he doesn't want – so he decides to save her the trouble.

"I'd like to think that we're eventually going to get there, don't you think? I mean, we're very much a couple. We'll soon move in together and we're having a daughter that we're going to raise as a family – honestly, I can't see us being more committed to each other than that. At least not at the moment". He takes her hand in his and she wonders if he knows he's caressing her ring finger. "But one day I'm going to put the biggest, most gorgeous rock I can find on your finger and then we'll have the traditionally Jewish wedding you deserve".

Her eyes are tearing up again but there's a bright smile on her face when their eyes meet. "I can wait for that", she whispers. "I can definitely wait for that".

* * *

**T**wo weeks later, Rachel is all dressed up on her version of the St. Anne uniform: the red coat, the white shirt, the dainty navy blue tie. But instead of the black pleated skirt, she's wearing fashionable maternity slacks (a gift from Quinn, Santana and Brittany, who took her shopping – again – just the week before), something she checked with the admission offices that she could do when she dropped off her records the day after her shopping trip with the Unholy Trinity. She's standing in front of the beautiful white St. Anne building, her hand grasping tightly to Jesse's, heart racing with nervousness and excitement.

The Dalton-St. Anne shared parking lot is filled with students coming and going, boys flirting with girls who grin coyly or shyly back at them. It's early, about thirty minutes until the bell rings signaling the first class, so everyone has more than enough time to make their way to their respective classes. The girls trail to the beautiful St. Anne building while the boys make their way to the within-walking-distance building of Dalton.

"You were right", Jesse tells Rachel as he drinks in the sights. "This is definitely a beautiful place."

Rachel grins as the baby inside her flutters, as if reflecting her excitement. "I know, right?" Her free hand fixes the strap of her bag on her shoulder and she presses her cheek against his shoulder as he tugs her close to him, wrapping an arm around his body. They stand together like that for a moment, but a male voice that Jesse recognizes breaks their moment.

"Well, well, well, if that isn't Jesse St. James", the voice drawls with a mix of sarcasm and amusement.

Jesse looks over his shoulder and blinks in disbelief. "Sebastian? Sebastian Smythe?"

Rachel turns around and looks at a tall boy, dressed in Dalton's maturely elegant uniform, with spiky dark blonde hair and huge green eyes. Her gesture draws the boy's – Sebastian, Jesse called him Sebastian – eyes to her, eyes that widen when he notices her barely-there baby bump. He openly gapes at Jesse, clearly shocked. "You… You're having a baby?"

Jesse can't help but laugh at seeing the usually composed, calm and collected Sebastian Smythe doing a very truthful impression of a fish. "Yes, I am. A baby girl, actually, in about five or six months depending on when she feels like arriving. How are you, man? I thought you were in France with your old guy?"

Sebastian seems to shake himself out of his shock and smirks attractively at the young couple. He clucks his tongue reprehensively at Jesse, ignoring that question. "Now, now, where are your manners, St. James?" The boy steps forwards and takes Rachel's hand in his, kissing the back of it politely with a small bow. "_Enchanté_, _mademoiselle_. I'm Sebastian Smythe".

Rachel's giggling at the boy's antics. "Rachel Berry, nice to meet you too".

Sebastian blinks. "Rachel Berry? New Directions' lead?"

"Former lead", Rachel corrects while her eyes light up with excitement. "You know who I am?"

Sebastian chuckles. "Who hasn't heard of the little girl with big pipes that managed to drag Jesse out of ruling that slavery camp called Vocal Adrenaline with an iron fist for a few weeks?" He grins at Rachel. "Glad to see you two are still together, though".

"Who would have thought? Sebastian Smythe is secretly a hopeless romantic", Jesse teases, and Sebastian scowls playfully.

"Shush", he tells Jesse, and then checks the time at his clearly expensive watch. "Fuck, if I don't run I'm going to be late. Nice meeting you, Rachel. Talk to you later, St. James".

With a wave Sebastian leaves them alone, and Rachel wraps her arms around Jesse's waist and stands on the tip of her toes to press a sweet kiss to his lips. He's smiling by the time they break apart, and presses his forehead against hers. "You're going to be so happy here, you know?" He whispers in her skin, feverish confidence dripping from every word. And she can't help but believe it, can't help but hope he's right. Because if he's not right, then she's signing up for a different, new kind of hell, and she doesn't have Noah and Santana and Quinn and Brittany there to hold her hand and wipe her tears during the day, even though she has Jesse to take her in his arms and hug her tight and sing (or fuck) her to sleep during the nights.

There's so much she wants to tell him, so much she has to say, and so little time. It's her first day in a new school, her first day in hopefully a safe haven (it can't be hell when there are two girls nearly having sex about twenty feet in front of them and no one bats an eye), her first day without a slushie to the face and stains on her clothes. But there's one thing she can tell him, knowing he'll understand and wait until she's all sorted out and ready to admit those fears out loud.

(He always waited for her even when he didn't know he was doing it).

"I love you", she whispers, and he grins.


	21. Chapter 21

**Author's Note:** Honest to God, I have the most amazing, surprising and adorable reviewers in the world (save for a handful of exceptions that unfortunately ship that couple-that-shall-not-be-named). Thank you for the kind words and your joy at having Sebastian join my list of characters!

I do think that, if given the chance to meet, Blaine and Sebastian and Jesse would relate to each other in several ways. And I'm of opinion that Sebastian was given the second worst write-out as a rival for a main (fan-favorite) pairing in the history of Glee. Unfortunately, however, in Sebastian's case he wasn't given the chance of winning over the audience like it was with Jesse.

Like Sebastian, Jesse was a cocky, self-assured and arrogant ass when he first appeared in Glee. But he grew into a troubled young man, torn between his love for Rachel and his loyalty to Vocal Adrenaline. Jonathan's chemistry with Lea and the clear joy they exuded at working together won over several people (myself included). It's my belief that RM knew he had to have Jesse do something really awful to Rachel, otherwise no one would keep shipping that ship-that-shall-not-be-named. And in his appearances since then, it was made clear that Jesse's love for Rachel is real (his passionate speech to Carmen in _Nationals_, anyone?) – something that never happened to Sebastian. If well-developed, Sebastian had the chance to be the Jesse to Blaine's Rachel. And I'll shut up now before I ramble any longer.

**Fatherhood**

_Twenty_

**T**he number of students in a St. Anne's class is tiny when compared with McKinley: twenty, to McKinley's fifty teenagers in each classroom. But there's something that happens in every school, no matter where it is – the curiosity when a new student arrives.

Rachel feels the weight of every eye in St. Anne when she steps on her first class of the day, bravely fighting the urge to turn around and flee. Softly biting her lower lip, she chooses a desk near the front of the class and makes herself comfortable, thankful for the fact that her belly is still small enough that she doesn't have to sit with her legs to the side. Her little girl flutters inside of her and she smiles to herself, putting a protective hand over the tiny curve on her uniform. She's startled out of her moment by the screech of the chair next to her being pulled, and looks up to meet sparkling green eyes in a freckly pale face.

The girl has dark, curly hair that falls in loose, gentle waves to her shoulders. She's supermodel beautiful, but there's a natural warmth in her that attracts everyone. She smiles at Rachel and holds out her hand. "Hi! I'm Stella Powell."

"Hello", Rachel smiles shyly, shaking Stella's hand. "Rachel Berry."

"I know," Stella grins. "My parents are friends with the St. Jameses since Jesse and I were babies."

"Oh," Rachel makes, not knowing what else to say. "Nice to meet you," she says at last, uncertainty shining in her eyes.

"Likewise," Stella replies and plops herself on the chair, grinning. "I see congratulations are in order," she replies, with a pointed but discreet look to Rachel's small belly. "What is it?"

Rachel blushes prettily, with a shy smile. "Thank you," she replies. "It's a girl."

"That's amazing. I'm sure Mrs. St. James is very happy," Stella carries on conversationally, and Rachel nods.

"She has been… surprisingly supportive."

"It's understandable," Stella says with a nod. "Everyone knows Claire St. James only kept from having another child because she was afraid she would go through postpartum depression again," the beautiful brunette lowers her voice politely, cautiously looking around.

Rachel's eyes are wide as she takes this in, but she refrains from making more questions because the teacher walks in. It's a tall, African-American man, with kind eyes, who is greeted warmly by the other girls on the class. Stella leans forward and whispers, "This is Mr. Torres. He teaches History. He's amazing, the best History teacher ever."

"Oh," Rachel makes, feeling an uncomfortable flutter on her stomach as she tries to remember if she has ever seen Mr. Torres before. "He looks… familiar to me," she whispers, and Stella nods again.

"You've probably seen him in a Vocal Adrenaline's invitational, if you ever went to one, that is. He's the father of Jesse's teammate Giselle." Rachel pales and Stella grows worried. "Are you okay?"

The pregnant brunette nods anxiously, with a weak smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. It's just that I…" She bites her lower lip and then breathes, "Giselle and I don't have the best track history."

Stella nods slowly. "Ah." She pauses then says, "What did she do?"

Pain flashes inside Rachel's eyes, and she looks away. "I don't want to talk about it," she says quietly, and her demeanor spikes Stella's curiosity. However, she's kept from asking more questions by a friendly, booming voice that comes from the front of the classroom.

"I see we have a new face within our ranks," said Raul Torres, smiling gently. "Good morning. My name is Raul Torres and I'll be your history teacher."

Rachel's show face slides firmly into place and she gives him a dazzling smile. "Good morning, Mr. Torres. My name is Rachel Berry. It's nice to meet you."

The teacher's eyes doesn't focus on her stomach like it always happens lately, and she is grateful for that. Instead, his dark eyes stay firmly on her face, as he asks conversationally, "From where do I know you, Miss Berry?"

Rachel hesitates for only the briefest moment, before choosing to answer honestly. "I was the female lead for New Directions. We were Vocal Adrenaline's competition on Regional last May. I've been told your daughter is a Vocal Adrenaline member."

Mr. Torres' eyes flash with recognition and he nods. "Ah, of course. You sang that beautiful version of **Faithfully**, didn't you?" When she only nods in response, he grins. "Don't tell my daughter, but I love the eighties' rock."

Rachel and the rest of the class laugh, and the pregnant brunette relaxes for the first time since Stella told her who Mr. Torres' daughter is. "It'll be our secret," she says, grinning, and a lanky redhead sitting on the back speaks up.

"It'll be a secret to all of us."

Mr. Torres laughs. "Thank you, Missy. You can sit, Ms. Berry. Now, let's proceed to today's lesson, shall we?"

* * *

**I**f Rachel's morning goes without a hitch, Jesse's unfortunately doesn't go the same way.

In Carmel, that's how rehearsal works: the older members of Vocal Adrenaline rehearse early in the morning, and the newest members join them after lunch. According to Shelby, who had decided this way of rehearsal was better, having the older members rehearse earlier meant they had a better grasp of choreography, thus allowing them to help those who struggled or took longer to absorb it.

It's the first Vocal Adrenaline's rehearsal Jesse attends as the assistant coach, and while most of the members behave respectfully towards him, Giselle doesn't do the same. When he first walks in the auditorium, she drapes herself all over him, gritting her teeth when he politely but firmly shoves her off him. She then tries to 'help' him show choreography to the others (read: rub herself shamelessly against him using choreography as an excuse), and he can almost hear her huff in anger when he ignores her.

It all comes to a head when the newest members of the team, those who just joined or transferred to their school and thus have no idea who Jesse is, join the others to the afternoon rehearsal. Dustin Goolsby introduces himself to those members, Jesse does the same, and after that the two coaches give their pupils a little time for Q & A.

A young girl, with bright blue eyes, dark hair and braces, lifts her hand. "Coach St. James, are you… Are you single?"

Jesse bites back a chuckle and shakes his head negatively. (Honestly, it had taken long enough for the girls to start hitting on him) "Actually, I'm not, Lacey – your name is Lacey, isn't it?"

"Yes, sir," the girl nods eagerly, brightening up at Jesse having recalled her name. Chris rolls his eyes and chuckles quietly.

"As I was saying, Lacey, I'm not single. In fact," Jesse then leaned back and with a blatant smirk on Giselle's direction, he adds, "I'm actually engaged to my girlfriend."

Gasps are heard all over the older half of the team. More than half of those look nervously at Giselle, whose mouth is opening and closing like a stunned fish. It hadn't been a secret to anyone that, since word first got out that Jesse would be the new (and first ever) Vocal Adrenaline assistant coach, Giselle had set her sights again on him, intending to sink her claws on the now-empty spot of team's lead.

"You're what?" The African-American hisses quietly, her voice dangerous.

Jesse rolls his eyes. "You've heard me, Torres. I'm engaged."

"To whom?" She squeaks in anger.

The former lead grins like a cat that ate the canary and licks his lips. "Rachel Berry."

"Oh, my God," Carrie breathes, while Chris grins.

"I knew you guys could work it out, man! Congrats!" He says as he gives Jesse's shoulder a firm and resonant slap. "Tell your missus I send her my best wishes, alright?"

Jesse nods and turns back to the gathered members of his team. "Any more questions?"

Olivia, who is standing on the back near Giselle, slowly inches away from the girl she calls her best friend. Giselle, who was stunned at first after Jesse broke the news of his engagement, is steadily growing more and more pissed, and there's rumors she's capable of killing the nearest person when she reaches such level of anger.

Jesse and Goolsby are explaining the duties and privileges of the Vocal Adrenaline's members when Giselle explodes, "You are fucking what?!" She screams, interrupting her coach halfway through his dissertation.

Jesse sighs. Just when he had started to think Giselle wouldn't react at all… "I'm engaged to Rachel."

"You're lying!" She screeches, eyes blazing in anger.

"Now what good lying about that would do to me?" Jesse replies calmly, looking thoroughly bored with this conversation. "I love her. I always have. I apologize if any of you girls thought I had led you on, but I always thought you were aware I wasn't in love with any of you when we hooked up."

"You can't marry her! She doesn't deserve you!" Giselle yells. "She's a stupid nobody in a dumb show choir that thought they were strong enough to beat us. And we proved her wrong!" She runs her hands desperately through her hair, turning pleading eyes to Jesse. "Tell me this is a joke. Tell me the Jesse I admired is still there. I'm begging you."

"I don't owe you anything, Giselle," he replies coldly. "The guy you admired was nothing. I thought I had everything when I was one of you, but truth is? I have everything now. I have a career, a family, a woman I love and, more importantly, who loves me. She sees me as me. And she loves what she sees. She wants me wholly, flaws and all. And I will marry her and make her my wife and spend my forever making sure she doesn't regret her decision of taking me back after my spectacular fuck up."

"With that being said, I think this conversation is done. Sit down, Torres," Goolsby orders coldly, and a still fuming Giselle storms out of the auditorium, the door slamming behind her. Goolsby turns serious eyes to the older members of his teams and adds, "St. James and I have instituted a new policy. No funkifications of any kind are allowed in this team. I don't want people accusing Vocal Adrenaline of resorting to low tactics to win. Anyone who disobeys this is immediately expelled from this group. Are we understood?"

"Yes, sir!" The teens say in unison, and a grinning Goolsby nods.

"Great. Now let's start our rehearsal. St. James and I chose The Rolling Stones' _(I Can Get No)_ _Satisfaction_ as your warm-up song. If you guys prove you're decent enough, we might consider adding it to our Invitational setlist. St. James, Thompson, you guys can take over. Vocal Adrenaline, from the top!"

* * *

**G**iselle stalks her way through Carmel's parking lot, blinded by rage. It can't be. It **has** to be a lie. Claire and Jonathan St. James would **never** allow their son to taint their family's name by getting married to scum like that Berry chick! Claire herself had repeatedly told Giselle how she hoped Jesse would wake up one day to see she was the perfect woman to be the next Mrs. St. James!

Opening her car door and hopping in, the singer slams it closed and rests her forehead against the wheel, letting out an ear-splitting scream. She furiously starts punching the passenger seat, screaming all the while, tears of hatred running down her cheeks. "I hate you, Berry!" She screams, turning the ignition on and speeding out of the lot with screeching tires.

_If Jesse believes I'll take his engagement kindly, then he's sorely mistaken_, she thinks, blood thundering in her ears. _He's mine! He is _**mine**_! If he's not mine then he'll never be anyone else's, least of all Berry's! I'll kill her if I have to! I swear I will!_

**to be continued**

**Author's Note:** It's official – apparently I like to have psychos on my stories (*laughs*). I have Quinn in 'and I owe it all to you', and here we have Giselle. But honestly, season 2's Quinn ('and I owe' timeline) and Giselle strike me as the type of women who don't take losing too kindly. And of course they'll blame Rachel when Rachel isn't at fault at all.

Before I forget: in July 13, we lost one of Glee's main stars. Although I passionately hate Finn, the character, I respected Cory Monteith as a person, especially after he came clean about his drug use and tried to get himself clean and sober. Unfortunately, he lost that fight, and far too soon we lost a young man who was dearly loved by fans and press, and especially by Lea.

I don't know if you guys saw it, but last weekend, Lea and Jonathan enjoyed a quick weekend trip to the mountains for Labor Day. And a fan started ranting at Lea on twitter, accusing her of having already forgotten Cory and moved on with 'the guy that played Jesse' (but really, what could we expect from a Finchel/Monchele fan?).

Truth is, eventually Lea will move on. That's the way life is. It won't mean, however, that she will have forgotten Cory or will have stopped loving him. And, please, if you're a Finchel/Monchele fan, before you start accusing Lea of bouncing back with Jon, **please**, **please**, google him first. Jonathan and Lea have been friends for nearly ten years, and, also, Jon is **gay**. He likes boys. And, in my humble opinion, he's the best person to help her during these tough days. As fans, we must respect and support Lea, no matter what she does. I'll always try to do that, even when I don't agree with it. #PrayforLea #StayStrongLea


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